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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. AN UNEASY ALLIANCE: BLACKS AND LATINOS IN NEW YORK CITY POLITICS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Shelly L. Anderson The Ohio State University 2002 Dissertation Committee: Professor William E. Nelson, Adviser Approved by Professor Paul Allen Beck Professor Kira Sanbonmatsu Adviser Political Science Graduate Program Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3059193 Copyright 2002 by Anderson, Shelly Laurece All rights reserved. ___ ® UMI UMI Microform 3059193 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Shelly L. Anderson 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This study explores the nature and extent of Black and Latino electoral coalition building in New York City. In a city where today Blacks and Latinos alone form a majority of the population, one might expect to see a substantial increase in the level of minority political empowerment. Interestingly, such empowerment remains elusive. It has been suggested that the formation of electoral coalitions could result in greater levels of minority incorporation and empowerment within New York’s governing bodies. Given the striking similarities in Black and Latino socioeconomic and political conditions in the city, issue agendas, goals, and residential proximity, one might assume greater prospects for alliances between these two groups. Despite the possible reasons why Blacks and Latinos should coalesce, however, stable long-term coalitions have not developed between these two groups. This dissertation seeks to understand why. In an effort to assess the nature and extent of Black and Latino coalition building in New York, this study employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In addition to the use of mayoral election poll data and race relations survey data, this study relies on in-depth interviews with political and community leaders as well as mainstream and minority newspaper accounts to tell the story of historical and current efforts at coalition building. Using the 1989,1993, 1997, and 2001 mayoral elections as case studies, the project details the extent to which Blacks and Latinos have or have not formed strong ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. alliance across these four election time periods. The study finds that while similarities in goals, issue concerns, and cooperative and unified Black and Latino leadership are all critical building blocks for the formation of Black-Latino alliances, so are perceptions of minority group status and a sense of intergroup commonality. Moreover, this study finds that the strength of Black-Latino alliances depends not only on the aforementioned factors, but also on the presence or absence of a minority candidate in the election as a mobilizing force. Specifically, under conditions of unified minority leadership committed to similar goals and issue agendas, as well as a minority candidate in the election, Black- Latino political engagement increases and a powerful minority bloc vote forms. However, under conditions of divided minority leadership and the absence of a minority candidate in the race to mobilize Blacks and Latinos around on-going issues, minority political engagement decreases, a schism in the Black and Latino voting alliance emerges, and coalitions break down. iii 9 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedicated to my family iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I offer my sincere appreciation and thanks to my adviser, William Nelson, and other committee members, Paul Beck and Kira Sanbonmatsu, for their intellectual support, encouragement, and constructive feedback, which aided significantly in the timely completion of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Jim Ludwig for his invaluable assistance with helping me to get the survey data into a readable format, and Gloria Hampton for her methodological expertise, both of which enabled me to complete the statistical analyses in this study. To my mother, father, and sister, words cannot begin to express my heartfelt appreciation for your unconditional love and praise, endless support, and unshakeable belief in my ability to complete this monumental task when self-doubt emerged. I am also grateful to my friends in the Department of Political Science and those outside of academia for years of sound advice, encouragement, fun and laughter. I offer many thanks to the political and community leaders who agreed to offer their thoughts and insights on New York City politics, thereby contributing greatly to the completion of this study. This research was supported by two departmental grants, the Madison Scott Grant and Program for the Enhancement of Graduate Studies grant, as well as the Graduate v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. School’s Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship, all of which helped to fund my trips to New York to conduct interviews. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. VITA May 30, 1974 ....................................................................Bom - Cincinnati, OH 1996...................................................................................B.A. Wittenberg University 2000.................................................................................. M.A The Ohio State University 1996-1999.........................................................................Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant, Political Science Department The Ohio State University 2000-200 1..........................................................................Instructor of Political Science, The Ohio State University 2001-200 2........................................................................ Academic Adviser Political Science Department The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Political Science Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract.................................................................................................................................ii Dedication ............................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................v Vita.....................................................................................................................................vii List of Tables....................................................................................................................... x List of Figures.................................................................................................................... xii Chapters: 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. The Elements of a Black-Latino Coalition ..................................................................31 3. Pieces of the Puzzle: Racial Identity, Minority Status, and Perceived Intergroup Commonality ...............................................................................................72 4. The Building of a Grand Coalition: The 1989 Election ............................................ 103 5. Wither the Grand Coalition? The 1993 Election ........................................................143 6. Shifting Alliances: