Black Mayors, White Majorities

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Black Mayors, White Majorities

The Balancing Act of Racial Politics

Ravi K. Perry

Justice and Social Inquiry Series

364 pages
12 photographs, 8 illustrations, 14 tables, 2 appendixes

Paperback

January 2014

978-0-8032-4536-5

$40.00 Add to Cart
eBook (EPUB)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

July 2022

978-1-4962-0357-1

$40.00 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

January 2014

978-0-8032-4946-2

$40.00 Add to Cart

About the Book

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of African Americans elected to political office in cities where the majority of their constituents are not black. In the past, the leadership of black politicians was characterized as either “deracialized” or “racialized”—that is, as either focusing on politics that transcend race or as making black issues central to their agenda. Today many African American politicians elected to offices in non-majority-black cities are adopting a strategy that universalizes black interests as intrinsically relevant to the needs of their entire constituency.

In Black Mayors, White Majorities Ravi K. Perry explores the conditions in which black mayors of majority-white cities are able to represent black interests and whether blacks’ historically high expectations for black mayors are being realized. Perry uses Toledo and Dayton, Ohio, as case studies, and his analysis draws on interviews with mayors and other city officials, business leaders, and heads of civic organizations, in addition to official city and campaign documents and newspapers. Perry also analyzes mayoral speeches, the 2001 ward-level election results, and city demographics. Black Mayors, White Majorities encourages readers to think beyond the black-white dyad and instead to envision policies that can serve constituencies with the greatest needs as well as the general public.

Author Bio

Ravi K. Perry is an assistant professor of political science and Stennis Scholar for Municipal Governance at Mississippi State University. He is editor of 21st Century Urban Race Politics: Representing Minorities as Universal Interests.

Awards

Outstanding Book Award from the National Association for Ethnic Studies  

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