African Americans in Politics

African Americans in Politics

Kalin Harris
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

IntroductionYou are watching television and images begin to flash on the screen, pictures of
teenagers; young men lying face down on the street dead with multiple gunshot wounds covering
their bodies. You think for a minute and try to figure out what country this all could be taking
place in but this is no third-world country where there is no stability in government, these events
are all taking place in your backyard; places that have now become household names due to the
extreme violence like Ferguson and St. Louis Missouri. In the country that you call home, in the
land of the free and home of the brave, in the United States of America government allows for
these things to take place without any intervention on their part. This all plays a part in politics
one side of the argument is saying take action fight for our young people of America and send in
the national guard to protect the youth, while the other side of the argument is to leave the
situation alone and let the states handle the situation. While all of this debating is going on the
problem never gets resolved or mediated it only gets worse.
African Americans are treated differently no matter what the case of circumstance even if
he or she is a high political figure, although it may not be apparent in many cases. African
Americans now politically cannot run the country or hold a government office without a certain
stigma being cast on their job description, weather it is signing a bill into law or making sure that
another innocent person does not go to jail a racial light is cast upon them followed by
opposition from opposing sides. However documentation surrounding African Americans in

Commented [KH1]: Akhila Vemulapalli:

Introduction:
I like how your first paragraph in the
introduction is catchy and detailed, and it is also
relevant to the society today. I also like how you are
honest about your bias. I would mention something
about African Americans in the first paragraph of the
introduction to create a continuous piece of work.

African Americans in Politics

politics after the 20th century become non-existent. When you search the term African Americans
in politics into a search engine for example (Google), No useful information comes up that is
relevant to this time period even though we have a high number of African American figures
holding high political offices like President of the United States. This is concerning and shows
that people of this new era believe that racial issues and certain stigmas surrounding African
Americans have disappeared, when that is entirely not the case.
It is necessary to shine some light on the reason for this particular
paper and why I chose to write this. As an African American
myself I felt that need to document the lives and responsibilities
of African Americans in Politics as well as show what obstacles
they might face; and why there is practically no information about
the lives of African Americans in politics after the 20th century is
astounding to me. It is as if the lives of African American leaders
in government do not matter or exist after 1999, even though we
currently have an African American President as leader of the free world today in the United
States. My personal bias is that I believe there is no proper representation of African Americans
in American government in the news or anywhere else and this lack of information will lead to
future generations growing up and not knowing the full information/heritage about their country.
Throughout this paper we will consider the influence of African Americans in political roles.
Clear patterns of issues with race, violence, and voter turnout emerge as the result of more
African Americans becoming involved in political office. And now even with the first African
American President Barack Obama there is gap in the research from about 1997 to 2014; I intend
to propose reasons for this gap.

Commented [KH2]: Alex Belton:

Perhaps the first paragraph of the introduction could be a
little stronger. Initially the visual image you depict when
you state You are watching television and images begin to
flash on the screen, pictures of teenagers; young men lying
face down on the street dead with multiple gunshot
wounds covering their bodies is very alluring and draws
me as a reader in. The hook is well put together however
towards the end of the paragraph you begin to lose me.
The content is good however I believe it could be great if
you revisit the syntax and diction used. If these two
aspects are reevaluated it could really enhance the
remainder of your paragraph which will essentially
strengthen it.

African Americans in Politics

Literature Review
In todays society connections and interactions between people are more important than
anything with connections to our family and friends we can find out a lot about our heritage and
where we all came from; without these connections of information we would not know where we
are from and in turn we would not know where we are going. In government you use your
political capital to make connections with other people by doing or saying something that other
people want you can gain their support, Frank James agrees when he writes about the president
using his Political capital to do something no other holder of his office has ever had the life
experience to do: He used the bully pulpit to, as an African-American, explain black America to
white America in the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of
unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin (2013). When violence and tragedy strikes like what
happened to young Trayvon Martin, Americans look to their government to solve the issues and
offer insight into the case, sometimes the government cant explain the cause but Americans can
use deductive reasoning and put two and two together that race is the underlying issue. When the
determinants of these lethal events were investigated, most researchers ignored racial
antagonisms. It is difficult to believe that the animosities created by economic and political
struggles between blacks and whites do not explain at least some of the variation in interracial
homicides. (Jacobs & Wood 1999).
This interracial violence could be a reason as to why many people want to try to ignore
these issues and they do so by not writing about them or documenting them in public archives.
Race remains a divisive issue in American politics, indeed in some ways more than ever, the

Commented [KH3]: Alex Belton:

This statement without these connections of information
we would not know where we are from and in turn we
would not know where we are going. Seems a little clich.
As a write you may want to stay away from this
generalized overused idea. Youll want to propose a new
idea, perhaps word this differently so that it doesnt
appear played out and overused. Indeed the concept is
great, however I would like to see you deviate from the
traditional wording of this phrase, and analyze/ depict this
differently so that is has a creative twist that really makes
readers curious about the meaning of this idea.
Commented [KH4]: Literature Review:
Your literature review is very detailed, and the
information from the sources is analyzed. I think that
indenting the paragraphs would help in making the
paragraphs in the literature review more prominent.
Other than that your literature review seems to be
cohesive.
Commented [KH5]: Alex Belton:
When you begin to talk about the shooting of Trayvon
Martin I would like for you to give more detail pertaining
to the topic. Perhaps when, where, and how this impacted
the black community could be included in the description.
This murder was HUGE and should not be merely touched,
or overlooked. Though you brought this controversial
murder to attention in your writing it is not enough just to
mention without more description. Some readers that are
not actively informed by news sources or completely
unaware of this murder may wonder why you chose to
include this shooting versus numerous shootings that have
taken place that involve African Americans as murder
victims. It is your job to tell why you chose this shooting,
and by that I mean show the importance and describe the
impact (it does not have to be lengthy but offer more
information than what is already stated).
Commented [KH6]: According to the guidelines your
literature review should be organized by your theme.
For example, all of the sources that relate to one theme
should be in one paragraph. If more than one
paragraph is used then the paragraphs should be in
consecutive order. The literature review is cohesive,
but I think this would benefit you in making this section
even more cohesive.

African Americans in Politics

discord and intensity of feelings over issues like affirmative action and busing are unmistakable;
and in the contemporary context on is struck by the strong racial undercurrents that characterize
debates on such prominent and emotional issues as crime and welfare (Peffley, Hurwitz, &
Sniderman 1997). When emotional issues like these welfare and crime pertain to American
people it affects how they vote and how they see government, people will not vote for someone
who is not going to care about the peoples issues or do not take a plan of action to fix these
issues on the opposing side of that is some people will not vote a person based on the color of
their skin. In districts in which African Americans enjoy political prominence, white constituents
are more likely to remain on the margins of the electoral process. Black congressional
incumbents routinely experience white turnout rates that are 518 points lower than at polling
places elsewhere in the state (Gay 2001). Voters affect who can be in local and federal office and
what policies they have to vote for or against even though they are not obligated to vote for what
their state wants.
Another reason as to why there is no proper
information on African Americans in politics is that
African Americans have only in recent decades
been able to hold a government office. Blacks have
been elected at the local, state, and federal levels of
government since the second half of the nineteenth century. During the short-lived era of Radical
Reconstruction, the first major wave of black political participation, African American males
were elected to state legislatures and the U.S Congress (Snipe 2000). An example of an African
American man holding a high political office would be Eric Holder who is the former attorney
general of the United States Eric Holders complicated role in Barack Obama's administration

Commented [KH7]: Alex Belton:

The third paragraph of Literature Review is very
good. Here as a reader I am able to see your writing
strength. The diction used is exceptional, the text is easy
to read and constructed very well. Id say this is a good
example/ indication to readers that the remainder of your
paper will be strong and interesting. Where most people
would lose interest in a paper at this point, I am even
more enthused, and willing to continue reading in order
to see the reaming success of your argument.

African Americans in Politics

was inextricably bound to race he was the first African-American U.S. attorney general,
appointed by the first African-American president. For Holder and Obama, breaking the racial
barrier as the nation's top two law enforcement officers meant living with the consequences, it
meant that countless points of conflict with their opponents would be cast in a racial light (Elving
2014). To hold a high official office like Eric Holder did you have to appeal to the people and
give the American people what they want at the same time African American politicians can use
their heritage and connections as one of their advantages, it is all about what the people want.
People today now want to see themselves represented in government and in other forms
of their life like television, television is another example of a way to show how far African
American people have come in politics. Now sitcoms are being created that depict African
American people in politics using their political capital for good shows like scandal which
follows the life of Olivia Pope a young African American woman who owns her own firm and
has powerful connections with the Whitehouse and other very influential people, she uses this
political capital to influence what she wants. Olivia works to fix the lives of innocent people and
solve the crisis of the lives of others including Whitehouse representatives. She is the protagonist
and the episodes that I observed showed how she solves her cases and how she handles other
peoples problems (Harris 2014).
Scandal is only one show out of many
up incoming new shows where cable
companies try to use diversity to grow their
audience and in turn increase their ratings, this
in turn changes the television viewing
landscape for many Americans. The viewing

Commented [KH8]: Akhila Vemulapalli:

Overall:
The paper is cohesive and has a very good
topic. I would tie in the figured world to the topic so it
connects your observations as a source to the paper.
Other than that the paper looks neat and very detailed
and analyzed. The conclusion is also cohesive and it
does answer the questions that were required.

African Americans in Politics

landscape is constantly changing and Gene Demby made a good argument by stating that, in
1974-75, Sanford and Son was in its third season on the air; Good Times had premiered the year
before and The Jeffersons would premiere as a midseason replacement. Each of those shows
ended that season as one of the 10 highest-rated shows on television; because the viewing
landscape has changed so much, very few sitcoms today have that kind of reach, and it's unlikely
that we'll see any sitcom centered on families of color pull in audiences of that size (2014). Yet
today we constantly see growth in diversified television it might not have the same audiences as
Good Times or Sanford and Son but companies are trying to reach that level, I personally believe
that scandal has outgrown Good Times and The Jeffersons, by being a diversified sitcom show
depicting what no one has ever seen before an African American woman running the country one
case at a time. This television show only proves that American people want to see more diversity
in their politics and even more diversity in their democracy.

Literature found pertaining to African Americans in Politics

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1990

1992

1997

1998
Dates

1999

2000

2001-2014

African Americans in Politics

Entering the ConversationWhen it comes to politics different views and opinions are what makes democracy what it
is today, you have the democrats on one hand who believe in certain things and the way the
country should be ran and on the other hand you have republicans who have opposing views on
the same issues. These issues are what the American people are most interested in like abortion,
gay marriage, the legalization of marijuana, taxes, etc., on top of this you have other party groups
like the environmentalist who pick up the issues that neither the republican nor democratic party
want to touch that is what makes politics diverse and makes the united states what it is today.
When you add into the mix African Americans you add a new perspective and insight into a
whole race of people who are grossly misrepresented in government. It is true that now there are
more African Americans in politics and on television shows than there have ever been before,
but information about these people have either been neglected to be publicized to the American
people or are non-existent.
Reality and television are two completely different things when it comes to this specific
topic, in recent television sitcoms the number of African American people being represented has
gone up and down. Since the viewing landscape has changed so much since the last 20 years we
now see people of color being put in positions of higher status such as in hit TV show Scandal
where the main character Olivia Pope played by Kerry Washington is the fixer of politicians,
senators and even the presidents messes. In reality however there is no one documenting what
African American people have achieved since becoming key political figures after 1999. Does
this show young African American children that no one cares if you become mayor or governor
or even president because you will go recognition and your name will not be in the record

Commented [KH9]: Alex Belton:

In entering the conversation I like your argument! The idea
proposed is solid, and provokes readers to engage in the
writing by thinking about the questions you ask in the text.
I personally have never thought how media fails to show
African Americans as high political figures. I am aware at
the negative stigmas, and coverage of violence pertaining
to African Americans, but not the failure to recognize
African Americans in a positive political limelight. Well
done this too strengthens your paper.

African Americans in Politics

books? Is America saying that it is okay to not have any information about an entire race being
prevalent in the government which is the central figure of how the continent is governed and ran?
The answers to these questions is yes. What children and young adults are viewing on television
is completely different than what is going on in their own back yard, on television seeing a
strong powerful political black woman handling the country is seen as normal and no one bats an
eye. However when an African American Illinois senator becomes president of the united states
there is no in depth information about how this African American man got into politics and how
his race changes everything about what a normal president should look like. People seem to
ignore the issues of race as if there was never a problem. I want to address the issue of race, we
all know that race has played a huge role in our society since the founding of the united states
and these animosities against African Americans and white Americans have only grown until the
law that stated that slavery was to be abolished was enacted by government and future laws put
into place to stop the spread of prejudice. This race issue cannot be swept under the rug only
addressed and documented so that future generations cannot repeat the same mistake.
I would like to add to this conversation of race and prejudice, my belief on the reason
why there is a gap in information about African Americans in politics after 1999 until now. To
put it simply no one cares to add information, sure there are articles about specific African
American people who have become prominent in American politics like three of my sources
(Ron Elving, Tracy D. Snipe, and Frank James) but these articles are all coming from the 20th
century and little to no new information is found on most search engines or libraries. Even
though for the first time in history the United States has an African American president there are
no articles describing how he is using his African American heritage to influence government
and change the face of the United States. It seems as if writers have believed that the racial issues

Commented [KH10]: Entering the Conversation:

Towards the end of your entering the
conversation section, you say you are going to add to
the conversation, but I didnt see what you added. You
might want to make your additional information more
prominent. Other than that I like how the entering the
conversation section includes examples and it is
detailed.

African Americans in Politics

of the century have disappeared with the beginning of the 20th century, even though that is not
the case. Racial issues and different beliefs cannot be removed overnight it will take time and the
election of the first African American president in history is a good first start.
Without proper documentation of these historic events there will be no information to
pass down to the next generation of upcoming writers, engineers, and presidents. How can we
expect young African American boys and girls to learn about everything that the United States
has to offer on politics if we cannot give them the right tools to be successful. This is something
that has not been talked about before concerning this topic and I would like to shine some light
on what this could do to our country. Without the knowledge of African American politicians in
government and their works younger children cannot grow to understand the full scope of
American politics like voting rights, why should they vote if they do not hear or read about the
candidate and what they have accomplished so far?

ConclusionTo review what has already been said the topic of this paper is to consider the influence
of African Americans in political roles. Also point out clear patterns of issues with race,
violence, and voter turnout emerge as the result of more African Americans becoming involved
in political office; and to propose a reason as to why there is a gap in information between 1990
and today on African Americans in politics. Throughout the paper I have done so I described
cases of African Americans in politics and their roles such as Eric Holder I also pointed out that
voter turnout is dependent upon the American people and who is running for office and why race
is an issue in this case. Along with my contribution of what might happen if America does not

African Americans in Politics

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properly document the lives and roles of African American leaders in politics. The lack of
information could lead to future generations losing who they are and their heritage.
You might ask yourself so what all of this information is meaningless and what could I
do about it, you could choose to stay more vigilant in your daily life by reading more being more
involved in your surroundings listen to the news and take time out of your busy day to write
about what you see in your political government. This could all allow you to look back and see
what is really going on in American and why and maybe someday future generations can use
what you have written to see how they can change and connect. Make this issue important to
yourself stop the spread of racism and prejudice by spreading the word of American people in
politics and become more politically involved, you could become a valuable resource just by
taking the time to write something on a political African American figure and detailing what is
going on with African Americans in politics. Will you take on the charge to help future
generation know about their government and about the positives of having African American
leaders in government? You could do anything with this topic research and study the
repercussions of not having enough information on this topic you could do anything you want to
help better equip the children of tomorrow just by being more informed.

References Frank James. (July 19, 2013). Obama Explains Black America To White America. Retrieved from
National Public Radio.

African Americans in Politics

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David Jacobs and Katherine Wood. (July 1999). Interracial Conflict and Interracial Homicide: Do
Political and Economic Rivalries Explain White Killings of Blacks or Black Killings of
Whites? Retrieved from Google Scholar.
Tracy D. Snipe. The Role of African American Males in Politics and Government. (May, 2000).
Retrieved from Google Scholar
Claudine Gay. (September 2001). The Effect of Black Congressional Representation on Political
Participation. Retrieved from UNCC library
Kalin Harris. Assignment 1 Observations. (September 2014).
Mark Peffley; Jon Hurwitz; Paul M. Sniderman. (Jan., 1997). Racial Stereotypes of Whites Political
views of Blacks in the context of Welfare and Crime. Retrieved from Google Scholar.
Ron Elving. Why We Won't See The Likes Of Eric Holder Again. September 26, 2014. Retrieved
from NPR
Gene Demby. (September 24, 2014). The Pre-Huxtable Golden Age Of The Black Family Sitcom.
Retrieved from NPR

Pictures CitedPete Souza, the Obama-Biden Transition Project. Obamas first term presidential portrait (2009).
Web. 10/20/2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama#mediaviewer/File:Official_portrait_of_Barack_
Obama.jpg

African Americans in Politics

NPR. Evan Vucci/AP. Web. 10/20/2014.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/09/26/351728857/why-we-wont-see-the-likesof-eric-holder-again
ABC. Danny Feld. Web. 9/25/2014.
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/04/stop_comparing_everything_to_scandal/

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