Changing White Attitudes toward Black Political Leadership

Abstract

Changing White Attitudes toward Black Political Leadership Despite the hopes of the civil rights movement, researchers have found that the election of African Americans to office has not greatly improved the well-being of the black community. By shifting the focus to the white community, this book finds that black representation can have a profound impact. Utilizing national public opinion surveys, data on voting patterns in large American cities, and more in-depth studies of Los Angeles and Chicago, Zoltan Hajnal shows that under most black mayors there is real, positive change in the white vote and in the racial attitudes of white residents. This change occurs because black incumbency provides concrete information that disproves the fears and expectations of many white residents. These findings not only highlight the importance of black representation; they also demonstrate the critical role that information can play in racial politics and point to the ability of at least some whites to change their minds about blacks and black leadership.

When does race matter? Exploring white responses to minority congressional candidates

“…Electoral data suggests that minorities, especially Asians and Latinos, remain underrepresented in elected office (Hajnal, 2010), and that there is disparity in the racial composition of electorates that elect minority candidates, with most black and Latino representatives coming from majority minority districts. Asians are the notable exception to this trend, as most Asian representatives are elected in majority white areas (Hajnal, 2007). The thrust of the literature has focused on black candidates, and several prominent studies have found that black candidates fare worse among white voters when paired against white candidates (Terkildsen, 1993;Reeves, 1997;Bullock and Dunn, 1999).…”

“…Sigelman et al (1995) finds that blacks and Latinos are stereotyped as being unable to manage major policy issues. Hajnal (2007) finds that among black challengers, stereotypes about incompetence are especially pervasive, which leads to a voting backlash among whites.…”

“…Most scholarly works on minority candidates focus primarily on black candidates and their relation to white voters (Hajnal, 2007(Hajnal, , 2001Highton, 2004;Bullock, 2000;Terkildsen, 1993). However, the literature on minority candidacies has yet to account for the increasing racial diversity in the array of candidates running for office at all levels of government.…”

“…Both Hajnal (2007) and McDermott (1998) find that black candidates, challengers in particular, lead to political stereotyping among white voters. Jacobsmeier (2014) finds that whites are more likely to perceive black candidates for Congress as more ideologically liberal than white candidates with similar ideological orientations.…”

“…Some have found that persistent prejudices have a negative effect on minority candidates (Terkildsen, 1993;Sigelman et al, 1995;Kinder and Sanders, 1996). On the other hand, many observational studies of minority candidates have found that the negative effect of race is largely dependent on electoral and candidate context (Highton, 2004;Hajnal, 2001Hajnal, , 2007Citrin, Green and Sears, 1990), and that under certain contexts, like incumbency and campaign messaging, race might cease to be a significant consideration in vote choice. I argue that what is missing from these studies is a theory that considers how racial perceptions and electoral context might mediate candidate evaluations, as well as comprehensive data that can test a theory that considers many of the contextual variables that might go into a voter's decision to vote for or against a minority candidate.…”