Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles / Edition 1

by Raphael J. Sonenshein

Overview

This book reaches deep into the past of the city of Los Angeles and carries through to the dramatic events that have recently received global attention—the Rodney King beating and the uprising in South Central L.A. Tracing the evolution of an extraordinary biracial coalition in Los Angeles behind Mayor Tom Bradley, Raphael Sonenshein shows how "crossover" politics and racial violence coexist in urban America. While challenging the prevailing pessimism about biracial coalitions in general, he also compares their relative successes in Los Angeles to their disheartening failures in New York City. What emerges is a probing look at a crucial issue of politics in the United States: can whites and minorities find common ground?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691025483
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	10/09/1994
Edition description:	With a New afterword by the author
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	524,416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.05(d)

About the Author

Raphael J. Sonenshein is Associate Professor of Political Science at California State University, Fullerton.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Pt. 1	Background
1	Overview: Biracial Coalition Politics	3
2	Minorities in the Entrepreneurial City: 1781-1960	21
3	First Victories: 1960-1963	36
Pt. 2	The Road to Power
4	The Roots of Biracial Politics: The Tenth District	55
5	Race, Ideology, and the Formation of a New Citywide Coalition	67
6	The 1969 Mayoral Crusade	85
7	Biracial Victory: The 1973 Mayoral Election	101
8	Factional Conflicts and the Consolidation of Biracial Power	114
Pt. 3	The Coalition in Power
9	Political Change: Power Shifts	139
10	Economic Change: A Mixed Record	163
11	Political Hegemony: 1973-1985	176
12	The Breakdown of Consensus: 1985-1990	191
13	The Rodney King Case and Los Angeles Coalition Politics	210
Pt. 4	Endings and Beginnings
14	Biracial Coalition Politics in Los Angeles and New York City	229
15	Multiracial Coalitions in the Future of Los Angeles: Politics beyond Black and White	246
16	Conclusions and Implications: Toward a New Contract for Biracial Politics	269
References	283
Index	293

What People are Saying About This

Juan Hull Mollenkopf

This book will become a standard work on the electoral politics of America's second largest city. It makes an argument about pragmatics of biracial coalition formation that will interest all those who study black politics or big city politics.
— Juan Hull Mollenkopf, Graduate center of the City University of New York

From the Publisher

"I was fascinated by Sonenshein's long-awaited book. He has compiled a compelling analysis of the genesis and growth of Black political power in Los Angeles, and his predictions about future alliances are right on target."—Maxine Waters, U.S. House of Representatives

"Politics in Black and White is a very important contribution to the literature of racial and ethnic politics . . . It is the best account of the Bradley era that I know of . . . . People who have followed recent events in Los Angeles, both academically and nonacademically, will find the book informative and accessible."—Bruce E. Cain University of California, Berkeley

"This book will become a standard work on the electoral politics of America's second largest city. It makes an argument about pragmatics of biracial coalition formation that will interest all those who study black politics or big city politics."—Juan Hull Mollenkopf, Graduate center of the City University of New York

Maxine Waters

I was fascinated by Sonenshein's long-awaited book. He has compiled a compelling analysis of the genesis and growth of Black political power in Los Angeles, and his predictions about future alliances are right on target.
— Maxine Waters, U.S. House of Representatives

Bruce E. Cain

Politics in Black and White is a very important contribution to the literature of racial and ethnic politics . . . It is the best account of the Bradley era that I know of . . . . People who have followed recent events in Los Angeles, both academically and nonacademically, will find the book informative and accessible.
— Bruce E. Cain University of California, Berkeley

Editorial Reviews

. . . a book that will set an agenda for research and the interpretation of urban politics for years to come. . . . The story that Sonenshein tells is vivid, based on solid evidence, and convincing.

Contemporary Sociology - Melvin L. Oliver

This is clearly a valuable volume that needs to be studied by anybody who is concerned with the pragmatic and moral problems of race and ethnicity in American politics.

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences - John Louis Lucaites

In addition to being almost as current as the newspaper, Raphael Sonenshein provides a wealth of detail carefully placed in the evolving history of racial politics of Los Angeles. . . . Much like Moses and the promised land, Sonenshein's book offers a view of what the future may hold for racial coalitions. . . . The analysis in Politics in Black and White offers valuable guidance to those who seek to understand politics in our increasingly diverse society.

Political Science Quarterly - Charles S. Bullock

[A] perceptive and compelling analysis of the course of interracial politics in Los Angeles.

The Times Higher Education Supplement - John White

. . . a book that will set an agenda for research and the interpretation of urban politics for years to come. . . . The story that Sonenshein tells is vivid, based on solid evidence, and convincing.
— Melvin L. Oliver

Contemporary Sociology

This is clearly a valuable volume that needs to be studied by anybody who is concerned with the pragmatic and moral problems of race and ethnicity in American politics.
— John Louis Lucaites

Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Sciences

In addition to being almost as current as the newspaper, Raphael Sonenshein provides a wealth of detail carefully placed in the evolving history of racial politics of Los Angeles. . . . Much like Moses and the promised land, Sonenshein's book offers a view of what the future may hold for racial coalitions. . . . The analysis in Politics in Black and White offers valuable guidance to those who seek to understand politics in our increasingly diverse society.
— Charles S. Bullock, III

Political Science Quarterly

[A] perceptive and compelling analysis of the course of interracial politics in Los Angeles.
— John White

The Times Higher Education Supplement

This is clearly a valuable volume that needs to be studied by anybody who is concerned with the pragmatic and moral problems of race and ethnicity in American politics.
— John Louis Lucaites

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

This is clearly a valuable volume that needs to be studied by anybody who is concerned with the pragmatic and moral problems of race and ethnicity in American politics.
— John Louis Lucaites

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences

An excellent account of the Bradley era.

Los Angeles Times

Winner of the 1994 Ralph J. Bunche Award, American Political Science Association

From the Publisher

"An excellent account of the Bradley era."

|Los Angeles Times