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“Glass half full: cautious optimism and the future of Black women political elites in America”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2020

Nadia E. Brown Open the ORCID record for Nadia E. Brown [Opens in a new window]  and
Sarah Allen Gershon Open the ORCID record for Sarah Allen Gershon [Opens in a new window]
Nadia E. Brown*
Affiliation:
Political Science, Purdue University, BRNG 2249, West Lafayette, IN, USA
Sarah Allen Gershon
Affiliation:
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: brown957@purdue.edu
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Abstract

In this essay, we place Black women's electoral challenges and opportunities in context. We situate this year of “Black Women Candidates” as an anomaly, but one that has been a long in the making. We also point to the appeal of Black women lawmakers among voters to mirror Alberder Gillespie's claims in this epigraph. We note that Black women have long been the backbone of the Democratic Party and are willing to use their clout for their own political means. Furthermore, given the unique ways that Black women represent their constituents, an influx of Black women into governing bodies may have a substantial, lasting impact on policy-making. We conclude with insights from our own research and that of other scholars on Black women to demonstrate future avenues of scholarly research.

Keywords

Black womencandidateselected officials2020 Election
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 3 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association

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