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Summary
2006 V.O. Key Award presented by the Southern Political Science Association
Documents political advances made by African Americans in the South over the last twenty-five years.
This authoritative study of contemporary state legislatures in the South provides a fascinating account of how African Americans have achieved noticeable political power since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. A history of racial discrimination and one-party Democratic dominance is being supplanted by African American empowerment in a competitive two-party system. Contributors examine the evolution of the Black Caucus, the growing number of African American lawmakers, and the rise of black legislators to important leadership positions in the legislatures of each of the southern states. Roll call data on key votes from several legislative sessions in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas are analyzed.
"The editors have a track record of publishing very good research on southern politics and state legislatures, and this is a well-written study of the central themes of African American descriptive representation, substantive representation, and biracial coalitions." Sharon D. Wright Austin, author of Race, Power, and Political Emergence in Memphis
Contributors include Brandi J. Brassell, Michelle G. Briscoe, Charles E. Menifield, Keesha M. Middlemass, William Miller, Janine A. Parry, Barbara A. Patrick, Stephen D. Shaffer, Steven Tauber, and Peter W. Wielhouwer.
Charles E. Menifield is Associate Professor at the University of Memphis, where he teaches research methods, political statistics, budgeting and finance, and public management information systems. He is the editor of Representation of Minority Groups in the U.S.: Implications for the Twenty-first Century.Stephen D. Shaffer is Professor of Political Science at Mississippi State University and the coeditor (with Dale Krane) of Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers versus Traditionalists.
Table of Contents
Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. An Introduction to Southern Legislative Coalitions Stephen D. Shaffer, Charles E. Menifield, Peter W.Wielhouwer and Keesha M. Middlemass
2. African Americans in the Arkansas General Assembly: 19721999 Janine A. Parry and William Miller
3. African Americans in the Contemporary Florida Legislature Steven Tauber
4. Black Representation in Georgia Peter W.Wielhouwer and Keesha M. Middlemass
5. Representation of African Americans in the Contemporary Mississippi Legislature Stephen D. Shaffer and Charles E. Menifield
6. Cohesiveness and Diversity among Black Members of the Texas State Legislature Michelle G. Briscoe
7. An Overview of African American Representation in Other Southern States Charles E. Menifield, Stephen D. Shaffer and Brandi J. Brassell
8. Politics in the New South: Looking Ahead Charles E. Menifield, Stephen D. Shaffer and Barbara A. Patrick