Political influence
African-Americans and the legislative process
Archived article from Oct 19, 2001
By Steve Manas
Has black inclusion in the political process changed political institutions and led to more black influence in policy-making? How do African-American legislators balance racial interests with the broader interests of fellow lawmakers and their constituents? How is effectiveness perceived subjectively and evaluated objectively ?
These are among the questions Assistant Professor of Political Science Kerry L. Haynie examines in his new book, "African American Legislators in the American States" (Columbia University Press). Haynie's work is part of a series, "Power, Conflict and Democracy: American Politics into the 21st Century," that focuses on how the will of the people and the public interest are promoted, encouraged or thwarted.
Haynie's is one of the first book-length studies to analyze the behavior of African-American state legislators in multiple legislative sessions across states. He researched the 1969, 1979 and 1989 sessions of the lower houses of Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina. Haynie evaluated the lawmakers' participation by concentrating on bills introduced in areas of particular concern to blacks -- education, health care, poverty/social welfare, civil rights and children's issues. Not surprisingly, these areas of black interest increasingly have been administered by state government in recent years.
According to the political scientist, passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act transformed black politics from pressure or "protest" politics to the "politics of electoral participation." Since 1970, he writes, the number of African-Americans elected to state legislatures has grown by more than 237 percent, from 168 to 567. Today, more than 7 percent of state legislative seats nationwide are held by African-Americans, a 5 percent gain from 1970.
This increase holds promise to improve the lives of what Haynie calls "the nation's largest, most politically cohesive, and (in terms of political and social development) most historically significant racial minority group." To do so, however, African-American representatives must "advocate and seek support for programs that are directly targeted, at least in part, toward African-Americans." They must act as "race men and race women" -- a concept dating from the era of slavery -- and be leaders whose primary loyalty and responsibility are to African-Americans.
But even with increased numbers, merely holding office is not necessarily enough for African-Americans to influence public policy. Haynie writes that black politicians must strive for "political incorporation, the extent to which a group is represented in important and sometimes dominant coalitions in policy-making institutions."
Haynie created the "Political Incorporation Index" for legislatures, a statistical formula that takes into account the African-Americans' numbers, leadership positions, party memberships, committee assignments and seniority. To emphasize the concept's importance, he cites other researchers who discovered that high levels of minority incorporation were accompanied by changes in urban policies, such as the increased use of minority contractors, the appointment of more minorities to city commissions, the creation of police review boards and the improvement of city services in minority neighborhoods.
However, achieving political incorporation and its influence underscores an important dilemma for African-American lawmakers, Haynie observes. "Because they are relatively few in number, African-American legislators feel obliged to serve as race men and women, yet they must balance the needs of blacks with the needs of their other constituents," he says. "They must be perceived as effective legislators to win re-election, advance their careers, earn seniority and gain assignments on power or prestige committees from which they can be in a position to influence public policy."
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