Promotional Information

Explores the idea of racial unity in black politics

Table of Contents

IntroductionPart I: The Clash of Two Black Americas? Black Political Entrepreneurship, Twenty-First-Century Style: The theory of Elite Displacement ? Prelude: The Rise of Cory Booker ? Losing: The 2002 Mayoral Election ? Winning: h e 2006 Election Part II: It's Not Easy Being Elite: Governing Challenges in Post-Racial Black America? Policy Is Politics ? Perception Is Reality: Judging Cory Booker ? The Politics of Perception: Cory Booker in Local and State Affairs ? 2010: Electoral Politics Revisited ? Uncle Julius's Cabin: Black Political Entrepreneurs and the Future of Black Politics Epilogue Appendix A: Methodological Notes Appendix B: List of Interviewees Notes Index 305About the Author

About the Author

Andra Gillespie is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Emory University. She is the author of The New Black Politician: Cory Booker, Newark, and Post-Racial America (NYU, 2012), Race and the Obama Administration: Substance, Symbols, and Hope (Cambridge, 2019), and An Introduction to African American Politics (Routledge, 2023).

Reviews

"Interesting, thoughtful, and broad in its revelation of the post-racial black politician." Andra Gillespie, author of The Tie That Binds: Identity and Political Attitudes in the Post-Civil Rights Generation "While centered on Booker's political life (his 1998 election to the Newark Municipal Council, when he defeated incumbent George Branch; his defeat in his 2002 run against Mayor Sharpe James, who held the office for 20 years (1986-2006); his successful campaign in 2006; his re-election in 2010), Gillespie fleshes out her account through reviews of relevant contemporary political theory and scores of interviews with largely political figures whose opinions about Booker are quite varied. The illustrations of campaign posters enliven and enrich the text." Publishers Weekly, April 2nd 2012 "The underlying study on which Andra Gillespie hangs this portrait of Booker is the phenomenon she labels the 'entrepreneurial black politician' who attempts to move out the old guard - the black officeholders who forged victories based on the fruits of the civil rights movement." Kathleen Daley, Newark Star Ledger, May 27th 2012 "This book may be of some interest to scholars of black or urban politics but will have difficulty holding the attention of readers generally interested in the 2012 presidential race." - R.B. Slater, Stroudsburg, Library Journal, June 1st 2012