The new Black politician : Cory Booker, Newark, and post-racial America / Andra Gillespie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gillespie, Andra.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American mayors--New Jersey--Newark--Biography.

African American mayors.

Mayors--New Jersey--Newark--Election.

Mayors.

African Americans--Politics and government--Case studies.

African Americans.

Post-racialism--United States--Case studies.

Post-racialism.

Elite (Social sciences)--United States--Case studies.

Elite (Social sciences).

Political entrepreneurship--United States--Case studies.

Political entrepreneurship.

Newark (N.J.)--Politics and government--21st century.

Newark (N.J.).

Newark (N.J.)--Race relations--Political aspects--History--21st century.

United States--Race relations--Political aspects--Case studies.

United States.

Booker, Cory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (327 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

At the beginning of the Twenty-First Century, a vanguard of young, affluent black leadership has emerged, often clashing with older generations of black leadership for power. The 2002 Newark mayoral race, which featured a contentious battle between the young black challenger Cory Booker and the more established black incumbent Sharpe James, was one of a series of contests in which young, well-educated, moderate black politicians challenged civil rights veterans for power. In The New Black Politician, Andra Gillespie uses Newark as a case study to explain the breakdown of racial unity in black politics, describing how black political entrepreneurs build the political alliances that allow them to be more diversely established with the electorate. Based on rich ethnographic data from six years of intense and ongoing research, Gillespie shows that while both poor and affluent blacks pay lip service to racial cohesion and to continuing the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, the reality is that both groups harbor different visions of how to achieve those goals and what those goals will look like once achieved. This, she argues, leads to class conflict and a very public breakdown in black political unity, providing further evidence of the futility of identifying a single cadre of leadership for black communities. Full of provocative interviews with many of the key players in Newark, including Cory Booker himself, this book provides an on the ground understanding of contemporary Black and mayoral politics.

Contents:

pt. 1. The Clash of Two Black Americas

Black Political Entrepreneurship, 21st Century Style : The Theory of Elite Displacement

Prelude : The Rise of Cory Booker

Losing : The 2002 Mayoral Election

pt. 2. It's Not Easy Being Elite : Governing Challenges in Post Racial Black America

Winning : The 2006 Election

Policy Is Politics

Perception Is Reality : Judging Cory Booker

The Politics of Perception : Cory Booker in Local and State Affairs

2010 : Electoral Politics Revisited

Joshua, Esther and Uncle Julius : Black Political Entrepreneurs and the Future of Black Politics

Epilogue

Appendix A: Methodological Notes

Appendix B: List of Interviewees.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814738689

0814738680

9780814738696

0814738699

OCLC:

793193044