Browse Publications: Political Participation
Diverging Generations: The Transformation of African American Policy Policy Views
The following analysis addresses one of the most important developments affecting the economic, social, and political life of African Americans in the new century. Generational cleavages are altering the bedrock of both national life and black life in the United States. These changes are governed by time and history, and they reflect the nation's economic, political, and social change as well as the differences in personal experiences that comprise and result from those changes.
Changing of the Guard:Generational Differences Among Black Elected Officials
This is a report on a national survey of black elected officials which was conducted as part of the Joint Center's Divergent Generations Project. The Divergent Generations Project seeks to document differences in political participation and public policy views associated with generational change in the black population. While previous research for this project has focused on the black population as a whole, this study examines whether the generational change evident among the black public can also be seen among the population of black elected officials.
Blacks and the 2004 Democratic National Convention
According to a broad consensus among political experts, the 2004 presidential election would be decided in a handful of states, namely, those where the vote tallies in November 2000 for George W. Bush and Al Gore were separated by five percentage points or less. Several of these swing states had significant voting blocs of African Americans: Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Louisiana. According to author David Bositis, The size of the black turnout and the direction of black votes will be crucial in determining the next president.