Changing White Attitudes toward Black Political Leadership

Zoltan L Hajnal author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:25th Dec '06

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Changing White Attitudes toward Black Political Leadership cover

This is one of the first examinations of the effect of black political representation on the white community.

This book is an examination of how experience under black mayors affects the racial attitudes of individual whites and the willingness of white voters to support black candidates. It uses public opinion surveys, data on voting patterns in large American cities, and case studies to show that black representation can profoundly alter white views and white votes.Despite the hopes of the civil rights movement, researchers have found that the election of African Americans to office has not greatly improved the well-being of the black community. By shifting the focus to the white community, this book shows that black representation can have a profound impact. Utilizing national public opinion surveys, data on voting patterns in large American cities, and in-depth studies of Los Angeles and Chicago, Zoltan Hajnal demonstrates that under most black mayors there is real, positive change in the white vote and in the racial attitudes of white residents. This change occurs because black incumbency provides concrete information that disproves the fears and expectations of many white residents. These findings not only highlight the importance of black representation; they also demonstrate the critical role that information can play in racial politics to the point where black representation can profoundly alter white views and white votes.

"Changing White Attitudes toward Black Political Leadership represents an important advance in the study of voting behavior. Hajnal goes beyond simply stating that race matters for white voters as he leads readers into an engaging and rigorous process of discovering when and how it matters. The conclusion that white voters can change their minds about black candidates is sure to be controversial, but it is strongly supported by a research approach that is multi-faceted, inter-disciplinary, and highly innovative. Changing White Attitudes is a fascinating read. It sets a new standard for studying the electoral implications of race. " Arthur Lupia, Hal R. Varian Collegiate Professor of Political Science, Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, Principal Investigator, The American National Election Studies, Principal Investigator, TESS, University of Michigan
"Like all good works, this book raises new questions, but I interpret that as a strenght of the work. The book makes important strides in our understanding of racial polarization in voting and it should open new lines of research--quantitative, qualitative, and experimental--on the relationship among race relations, public opinion, and political behavior." - Andra Gillespie, Emory University
"...Readers will find the assembled data both impressive and extensive" Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh, Political Science Quarterly

ISBN: 9780521857475

Dimensions: 232mm x 157mm x 18mm

Weight: 430g

230 pages