Conflict

African American Women and the New Dilemma of Race and Gender Politics

Cindy Hooper

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9798216064831
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: African American Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

This in-depth examination looks at African American women's navigation of the interlocking obstacles of race and gender specifically within the political arena. Conflict: African American Women and the New Dilemma of Race and Gender Politics offers a provocative examination of an increasingly important voting bloc, one that impacted the 2008 election and whose loyalties will have far-reaching implications for future contests. This fascinating study is three-pronged. It explores the conflicts African American women experience in prioritizing race over gender, offers data-backed analysis of the substantial power of this bloc to influence elections, and looks at the ways in which the very existence of that influence impacts the political and social empowerment of this dual-identity population. As background to the present-day story, the book surveys the history of African American females in elective office in the United States, as well as their roles in the Women's Suffrage and Civil Rights movements. The first work to undertake a study of African American women in this expansive political context, this important volume will help readers assess where African American women have been, where they are now, and what their roles might be in the future.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Cohesive Representation
• 2. A Look Back
• 3. Racial Bias within the Women's Suffrage Movement
• 4. Gender Bias within the Civil Rights Movement
• 5. The Shortcomings of Black Feminism
• 6. The 2008 Presidential Election: Substance or Symbolism?
• 7. Early Indicators of Gender Preference Shift to Racial Preference
• 8. The Consequential Shift to Obama
• 9. The Historic 2008 Democratic Primaries and Caucuses
• 10. An Influential New Voting Bloc Emerges
• 11. A Renewed Sense of Obligation
• 12. The Fulfillment of the Thirteenth and Nineteenth Amendments
• 13. The 2008 Presidential Election: The Choice
• Conclusion
• Afterword
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author