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The Radical Imagination of Black Women: Ambition, Politics, and Power

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Abstract

The Radical Imagination of Black Women: Ambition, Politics, and Power explores how elite Black women decide to seek political office. Despite their marginalized existence, Black women engage in robust political participation that includes seeking elected office. Utilizing interviews of Black women who currently or have served in office and focus group data of Black women, the manuscript bridges the literatures of ambition theory and marginalization through a theory referred to as “ambition on the margins.” Black women’s resistance to marginalization informs us about the conditions that shape Black women and their political socialization, while ambition theory helps us understand what they do in response to marginalization. The socialization process fosters the decision-making process of Black women. This framework moves the extant literature beyond the premise that the political ambition of Black women is less than white women or men. Political science’s approach to ambition negates and disregards mechanisms beyond voting that Black women often engage in, such as doing political work through community and civic organizations. That data provided from interviews reveal the complex dynamics that contribute to the nuanced process that Black women emerge as candidates and engage as politicians.
... Many voters, already holding racial biases, may remain unsupportive regardless of these politicians' stances or actions. Scholars like Dowe (2023) have written extensively about the radical imagination of Black women in U.S. politics. ...
... In her work, Dowe (2023) argues that Black women's political ambition to seek and run for office is driven by their concern for issues impacting their community but that this interest is distinct and is reflected in the kinds of policies that these women advocate for. In the current political context in the U.S. for Black women candidates to be viable candidates, they must speak to issues of racial justice in order to mobilize their base. ...
... We fill this void by using Kamala Harris as a test case. In our article, we draw on representational identity theory(Brown 2014) and the literature on racial attitudes to argue that Black women forge distinct political identities(Dowe 2023). This, in turn, influences their policy preferences and political styles in representing Black interests which then influence how negative racial attitudes might influence how women like Kamala Harris are evaluated. ...
Article
Full-text available
The research on minority candidate evaluation has explored questions about the degree to which white voters will support minority candidates, as well as the extent to which racial attitudes influence electoral support for racialized and non-racialized candidates. A recent debate has emerged in the literature, suggesting that the 1981 racial resentment battery may be outdated and, as a result, may not accurately capture how white Americans think about race in contemporary American politics. Using data from the 2020 CMPS, we investigate the degree to which DeSante and Watts Smith's (2020) FIRE model and hostile sexism influence evaluations of Vice President Kamala Harris among young and older generations of whites. In this study, we merge the literature on Black women in politics, racialization, and racial attitudes to theorize that Kamala Harris, the first Black and Southeast Asian woman Vice President, may be evaluated negatively among whites because of her race and gender. Our findings confirm that both negative racial attitudes and hostile sexism influence evaluations of Kamala Harris among whites. While some dimensions of FIRE are significant predictors of evaluations of Kamala Harris, racial resentment remains a major determinant of whites’ evaluations of the nation’s first Southeast Asian and Black Female Vice President across generations. The results also highlight important similarities and differences in how racial attitudes influence the political attitudes of younger and older generations of whites. Our findings also reveal that the potency of racial attitudes in American politics is beyond the racial resentment index and is associated with beliefs about white privilege, fear of other races, beliefs that racial incidents are rare, and an acknowledgment of anti-Black racism.
... Many voters, already holding racial biases, may remain unsupportive regardless of these politicians' stances or actions. Scholars like Dowe (2023) have written extensively about the radical imagination of Black women in U.S. politics. ...
... In her work, Dowe (2023) argues that Black women's political ambition to seek and run for office is driven by their concern for issues impacting their community but that this interest is distinct and is reflected in the kinds of policies that these women advocate for. In the current political context in the U.S. for Black women candidates to be viable candidates, they must speak to issues of racial justice in order to mobilize their base. ...
... We fill this void by using Kamala Harris as a test case. In our article, we draw on representational identity theory(Brown 2014) and the literature on racial attitudes to argue that Black women forge distinct political identities(Dowe 2023). This, in turn, influences their policy preferences and political styles in representing Black interests which then influence how negative racial attitudes might influence how women like Kamala Harris are evaluated. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The research on minority candidate evaluation has explored questions about the degree to which white voters will support minority candidates, as well as the extent to which racial attitudes influence electoral support for racialized and non-racialized candidates. A recent debate has emerged in the literature, suggesting that the 1981 racial resentment battery may be outdated and, as a result, may not accurately capture how white Americans think about race in contemporary American politics. Using data from the 2020 CMPS, we investigate the degree to which DeSante and Watts Smith's (2020) FIRE model and hostile sexism influence evaluations of Vice President Kamala Harris among young and older generations of whites. In this study, we merge the literature on Black women in politics, racialization, and racial attitudes to theorize that Kamala Harris, the first Black and Southeast Asian woman Vice President, may be evaluated negatively among whites because of her race and gender. Our findings confirm that both negative racial attitudes and hostile sexism influence evaluations of Kamala Harris among whites. While some dimensions of FIRE are significant predictors of evaluations of Kamala Harris, racial resentment remains a major determinant of whites' evaluations of the nation's first Southeast Asian and Black Female Vice President across generations. The results also highlight important similarities and differences in how racial attitudes influence the political attitudes of younger and older generations of whites. Our findings also reveal that the potency of racial attitudes in American politics is beyond the racial resentment index and is associated with beliefs about white privilege, fear of other races, beliefs that racial incidents are rare, and an acknowledgment of anti-Black racism.
Article
Full-text available
Historically, women have confronted formidable barriers to political participation, entrenched by patriarchal norms. Despite the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in the United States, which granted women voting rights, substantive representation remains elusive. This study investigates the persistent gender gap in political representation, focusing on the 113th congressional elections. Employing liberal feminist theory and democratic principles, it aims to elucidate the urgency of addressing women's underrepresentation in legislative bodies. Through literature review and quantitative analysis of electoral data, this research seeks to uncover the impact of electoral systems on women's political engagement. Results reveal stark contrasts between countries like the US and Rwanda, emphasizing the critical role of electoral mechanisms in fostering gender parity. By illuminating these disparities, this study underscores the imperative for policy interventions to ensure equitable political participation for women, thereby advancing democratic ideals and societal progress.
Article
Scholarship on women voters using an intersectional lens has shown feminists and women of color within the Democratic Party to be a powerful force in electoral politics—specifically, Black and Latina women—are the most reliable voters. Combined, they represent the majority of women voters in the Democratic Party, and they have shown themselves to be a sizeable voting bloc in the last two American presidential election cycles. Using data from the 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES), we demonstrate important differences in support for the Democratic candidate (Hillary Clinton) between feminists and women of color—Black and Latina—underscoring the need to study gender, race, and ethnicity simultaneously (versus independently) when they are co-constitutive identity categories. By examining women and the groups the Clinton campaign appealed most to—feminists, Black, and Latina women—we add to the scholarship in political science that followed this unique election and demonstrate the importance of feminist identity for vote choice and various modes of political behavior for women voters. Knowing and understanding how women respond through affect and how this affect can result in political behaviors will help determine what it takes for future historic first candidates to emerge successful.
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