New Book Available -- Republicans and the Black Vote

My newest book, Republicans and the Black Vote, is now available and I encourage you to get a copy.  This is academic publishing, so you don't have to worry about me getting rich over it!!  You can get it at the usual places, including online sites such as Amazon and from the publisher, Lynne Rienner (www.rienner.com). 

Following is a description, comments by those who have read the book, and a chapter listing.

Description--

Republicans and the Black Vote examines the complicated relationship between a political party and a constituency from which it receives little support.  The book relies on interviews and a review of the historical record to explain the GOPs early lock on Black voters, how they lost Black support, how policy positions and political symbolism combine to repel Black voters, and how the party can overcome its current position in the Black community.

The relationship between African Americans and the Republican Party garners attention every national election cycle and raises a number of concerns.  Many analysts wonder why the Grand Old Party (GOP) has been unable to gain a significant foothold in the Black community.  Still others want to know how the GOP found itself in its current predicament with a formerly support constituency.  Some even implicitly criticize Black voters for not being more open to supporting the GOP.  Still others, given current political trends, suggest that the GOP should simply throw up its collective hands and spend no additional time or resources seeking Black votes and focus more attention, instead, on Hispanic voters.  And then there are the cynics who wonder, GOP pronouncements notwithstanding, if Republicans really want Black votes or just want to appear to want Black votes to show racial moderation center and center-left voters.

However, the nation’s changing demography and more closely contested national elections are among the factors that  are forcing the GOP to reach out and gain support in previously untapped voter reservoirs.  Failing this outreach, the party risks losing its current position in American politics and the GOP’s most untapped voter reservoir is the African American community.  This is particularly notable when one considers that President Bush did better with gay voters in 2004 than African American voters, 25 percent to 11 percent, respectively.

Comments--

"Tackling a topic that has not received nearly as much attention as it merits, Fauntroy's timely work provides a comprehensive overview of the GOP in relationship not only to black voters, but to racial politics writ large."
—Linda Faye Williams, University of Maryland

"A comprehensive and much-needed analysis of party identification among African Americans since passage of the 15th and 19th Amendments.... Fauntroy does a great job assessing the obstacles plaguing the Republican Party."
—Maruice Mangum, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

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The Republican Party once enjoyed nearly unanimous support among African American voters; today, it can hardly maintain a foothold in the black community. Exploring how and why this shift occurred, as well as recent efforts to reverse it, Michael Fauntroy meticulously navigates the policy choices and political strategies that have driven a wedge between the GOP and its formerly stalwart constituents.

Contents--

• Afros and Elephants: An Introduction to a Political Paradox.
• The GOP's Early Lock on Black Votes.
• The Republicans Fall Out of Favor.
• Efforts to Regain and Retain African American Support.
• Public Policies Speak Louder Than Words.
• GOP Political Symbolism Angers African Americans.
• An Ongoing Quest for Black Votes?