| Devolution and Black State Legislators: Challenges and Choices in the Twenty-First Century Contributor(s): King-Meadows, Tyson (Author), Schaller, Thomas F. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0791467295 ISBN-13: 9780791467299 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $90.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 2006 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | American Government - State - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - African American Studies |
| Dewey: 328.730 |
| LCCN: 2005014018 |
| Series: Suny Series in African American Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.97" H x 6.28" W x 9.08" (1.23 lbs) 302 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - African American |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Devolution and Black State Legislators examines whether black state legislators can produce qualitative gains in the substantive representation of black interests. Once a battle cry by southern conservatives, "new federalism" has shifted power from Washington to the respective state governments and, ironically, has done so as black state legislators grow in number. Tyson King-Meadows and Thomas F. Schaller look at the debates surrounding black political incorporation, the tradeoffs between substantive and descriptive representation, racial redistricting, and the impact of black legislators on state budgetary politics. They situate contemporary constraints on black state elites as the union of macro- and micro-level forces, which allows for a reconsideration of how the idiosyncrasies of political, economic, and geographic culture converge with the internal dynamics of state legislative processes to produce particular environments. Interviews with black legislators provide valuable insights into how such idiosyncrasies may deprive institutional advancement--committee assignments, chairmanships, and party leadership positions--of the influence it once afforded. |