African American Political Participation in the United States
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AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED STATES by Erinn D. Wilcots APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ___________________________________________ Robert C. Lowry, Chair __________________________________________ Thomas L. Brunell __________________________________________ Banks P. Miller __________________________________________ Marianne C. Stewart Copyright 2019 Erinn D. Wilcots All Rights Reserved For my parents and grandparents AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED STATES by ERINN D. WILCOTS, BA, MBA, MA DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS August 2019 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My Father in Heaven, none of this would be possible without You. When I thought I could not go another step, You answered my prayers with the guidance necessary to make it through. To my parents, Ann and Early Wilcots, nothing is ever easy with me, is it? You stood beside me on some tough days with some very tough love. I could not have made it without both of you in front, beside, and behind me. To my siblings, Kylynnedra, Gianancarlo, and Lagienencarla - thanks for hanging in there. A huge thank you goes to my amazing committee. Robert Lowry offered comments and ideas during some early coursework when I was still formulating this idea and helped get me through these final stages with those gentle reminders. Thomas Brunell stoked many fires in my mind with long chats. Banks Miller was more supportive than he knows. Marianne Stewart was always ready with helpful questions, comments and wonderfully useful resources. And thank you to the many people along the way that encouraged this educational venture with your kind words. July 2019 v AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED STATES Erinn D. Wilcots, PhD The University of Texas at Dallas, 2019 ABSTRACT Supervising Professor: Robert C. Lowry African American political behavior is a puzzling thing some days. Their still sometimes differential status creates seemingly unexplainable behavior. This dissertation explores three interesting concepts in the political participation of African Americans. The first paper explores the effect of two factors of alienation on voting behavior. The results show that voters that mistrust the government are more likely to vote than those with more trust in the government. The second paper is a qualitative look into African Americans who choose to veer from the assumed norm in African American party identification. Why does a small, faithful pocket of Blacks continue to identify as Republicans versus Democrats? Their own words will speak to their choices regarding the party choice, important issues facing their community, the pressure to be a Democrat, and why Republican outreach to African Americans is an epic failure. The third paper examines the effects of alternative political participation on voting behavior for African Americans. Does engaging in protest behavior increase the likelihood of voting? The research indicates that not only does protest increase voting, but signing a petition is an even stronger indicator of whether one will cast a vote or not. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 THE ROLE OF TRUST AND EFFICACY IN THE VOTING BEHAVIOR OF AFRICAN AMERICANS ...............................................................................................................4 Appendix A.1 Variable Coding for National Black Feminist Study .....................35 Appendix A.2 Models of Trust and Efficacy on Voting Data Table .....................37 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................39 CHAPTER 3 WHY AREN’T MORE AFRICAN AMERICANS REPUBLICAN? ...................44 Appendix B.1 Interview Questions ......................................................................117 Bibliography ........................................................................................................118 CHAPTER 4 FROM OTHERS TO KNEELING BROTHERS: PROTEST AS ALTERNATIVE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND THE EFFECT ON VOTING BEHAVIOR FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ...........................................................................................................125 Appendix C.1 Variable Coding for National Black Feminist Study ....................168 Appendix C.2 Models of Alternative Participation Data Table ............................169 Bibliography .........................................................................................................170 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................181 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................185 CURRICULUM VITAE vii LIST OF FIGURES 2.1. Government Trust Effect on Voting .......................................................................................28 2.2. Effect of Candidate Money on Voting ....................................................................................29 2.3. Effect of Campaign Material on Voting .................................................................................29 2.4. Official Concern Effect on Voting ..........................................................................................30 2.5. Government Complicated Effect on Voting ...........................................................................31 2.6. Government Say Effect on Voting ..........................................................................................31 4.1. Effect of Protest on Voting ...................................................................................................163 4.2. Effect of Marches on Voting .................................................................................................164 4.3. Effect of Petition Signing on Voting ....................................................................................165 viii LIST OF TABLES 2.1. American National Election Studies Measures of Political Trust ..........................................20 2.2. University of Michigan Survey Measures of Efficacy ...........................................................21 3.1. African American Republican Interviewee Demographics ....................................................73 4.1. Participants in Protests and Marches ....................................................................................163 A.1. Essay 1 Coding for National Black Feminist Study Variable ................................................35 A.2. Models of Trust and Efficacy Effects on Voting Data Table ................................................37 C.1. Essay 3 National Black Feminist Study Variable Coding List ............................................179 C.2. Models of Alternative Political Participation Effects on Voting Data Table .......................180 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A funny thing happened on the way to graduate school… In June of 2008, the Democratic nomination for President went to Barack Hussein Obama, a then three year veteran of the United States Senate and first African American to garner the nomination for President from a major political party. Cut to November 4, 2008 and the United States sits on the precipice to make history yet again by electing the first African American as President of the United States. This event was not altogether surprising. After all, this is the nation that has found itself engaged in all manner of historic events, beginning with its founding. As the series of events that will eventually lead to the election of a man with an almost unelectable name unfolded, all manner of questions developed. In the main – are the politics of African Americans different, or is it the ways in which they engage that make it unique? The theories behind voting behavior and their application to this population are the same, but the strong suspicion that Blacks somehow are affected in a different manner became the key topic for many discussions and debates. Those questions turned into theories of their own and the results of that have become this paper. The history of African Americans in U.S. politics is rich. It is full of people and events such as Alexander Twilight, the first Black elected to political office and Frederick Douglass, the former slave who would go on to be a founding member of the Republican Party. We of course cannot forget, Colin Powell, Douglas Wilder, Condoleezza Rice, Carol Moseley-Braun and many others who have been integral in the making of history but in defining African American politics in the United States. For all these firsts, the African American political struggle has been real. Hobbled by the institution of slavery, Blacks