1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910825485003321

Autore

Gillespie Andra

Titolo

The new Black politician [[electronic resource] ] : Cory Booker, Newark, and post-racial America / / Andra Gillespie

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : New York University Press, 2012

ISBN

0-8147-3868-0

0-8147-3869-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (327 p.)

Disciplina

974.9/044092

B

Soggetti

African American mayors - New Jersey - Newark

Mayors - New Jersey - Newark - Election

African Americans - Politics and government

Post-racialism - United States

Elite (Social sciences) - United States

Political entrepreneurship - United States

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

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

United States Race relations Political aspects Case studies

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

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.

Sommario/riassunto

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.