Context, Black Empowerment, and African American Political Participation

Abstract

Activists and scholars argue that the election and presence of Black mayors increase Black political engagement; however, later research suggests that this diminishes over time. Furthermore, a body of research suggests that homogenous racial contexts and contextual poverty decrease political participation. In this article, we ask one question: How does demographic context and length of Black mayoral tenure influence Black political participation? Using a national data set of Black respondents, we find that participation increases as cities become “Blacker.” However, simultaneously we find diminishing returns to Black political empowerment, particularly compared with new Black empowerment contexts.