“In the final analysis”: on Nick Nelson's contribution to the study of black politics

Abstract

This essay analyzes Dr. William E. Nelson, Jr's contributions to the study of race and politics. His scholarship probed the following question: What difference has the election of this candidate or the adoption of this policy made for the Black community? Nelson emphasized the importance of political context for countering pluralist claims that fail to account for both the mobilization of bias and non-decision-making within democratic systems. In conceptualizing Black Politics, Nelson contends that the passage of policies such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were insufficient for achieving full political incorporation. Rather, any meaningful strategy for incorporation must rest on a dual commitment to electoral participation and group empowerment. Though Nelson's early work focused on the election of Black mayors, his intellectual trajectory provides a useful framework for understanding current critiques of elected officials like Barack Obama, while also outlining a path for future research on race in the USA and beyond.

Keywords:

• Race and politics
• urban politics
• Barack Obama
• leadership
• cities
• politics
• Black politics

Notes

1. See Walton's (1985) pioneering book.

2. Schattschneider (1960) describes the mobilization of bias by writing, “The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent” (32).

3. See the work of Bachrach and Baratz (1962) for a comprehensive treatment of the dimensions of power in American politics.

4. The Ohio State University Press has made an electronic version of Electing Black Mayors: Political Action in the Black Community, available for free download.

5. See, for example, Al Sharpton's 2011 defense of Obama in the piece, “Obama, The Black Agenda, and Reality.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-al-sharpton/obama-black-civil-rights_b_864672.html

6. At the time of his passing Dr Nelson was working on a book-length comparison of Black Caribbeans in the USA and Canada. He was very interested in how/why the concept of social distance varied across the two contexts and how that might explain differing levels of Black political incorporation in the two countries.

7. In 2012, the inaugural “Dr. William E. Nelson, Jr. Community Warrior Awards” were given to recognize members of the Columbus community who shared Dr Nelson's commitment to community empowerment.

8. http://www.jointcenter.org/sites/default/files/upload/research/files/National%20Roster%20of%20Black%20Elected%20Officials%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

9. McCormick and Jones (1987) define deracialization asconducting a campaign in a stylistic fashion that defuses the polarizing effects of race by avoiding explicit reference to race-specific issues, while at the same time emphasizing those issues that are perceived as racially transcendent, thus mobilizing a broad segment of the electorate for purposes of capturing or maintaining public offices. (76)