African American women, political activists for their entire history on the American continent but long denied the right to vote and hold office, have resorted to nontraditional politics. This article explores the nature and extent of African American women's political participation, beginning with the slave era. As victims of racial and sexual discrimination, these women have been active in the African American liberation movement and the women's movement. Along the way they developed a rich array of innovative alternatives to the traditional political activities from which they were excluded. After the 1965 Voting Rights Act, nontraditional activities began to give way to more traditional ones. Currently, they are the prime users of the ballot, hold a higher percentage of their race's elective offices than do white women, and as officeholders exhibit higher levels of women's organization membership than do white women and are highly supportive of women's issues. African American women receive high praise for their performance as officeholders. Unlike their white counterparts, African American adults have not experienced a gender gap.
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References
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1. In Barbara J. Nelson, American Women and Politics: A Selected Bibliography and Resource Guide (New York: Garland, 1984), of 1611 entries, only 39 are under “black women.”
2.
2. John J. Stucker, “Women as Voters: Their Maturation as Political Persons in American Society,” in Women in the Professions, ed. Laurily Keir Epstein (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath, 1975), pp. 97-121.
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3. As quoted in Herbert Aptheker, ed., A Documentary History of the Negro People in the United States (New York: Citadel Press, 1969), p. 313.
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4. Angela Davis, “Reflections on the Black Woman's Role in the Community of Slaves,”Black Scholar, 3:2-15 (Dec. 1971).
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See Prestage and Williams, “Blacks in Louisiana Politics,” in Louisiana Politics: Festival in a Labyrinth, ed. James Bolner (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982), p. 285.
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Jewel L. Prestage , “Political Behavior of American Black Women: An Overview,” in The Black Woman, ed. La Frances Rodgers-Rose (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1984), p. 238.
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Susie King Taylor , A Black Woman's Civil War Memoirs (New York: Markus Wiener, 1988).
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Also see Giddings, When and Where I Enter, p. 49.
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11. Giddings, When and Where I Enter, pp. 119-120.
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Giddings , When and Where I Enter, p. 68.
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13. Giddings, When and Where I Enter, p. 55.
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14. Ibid.
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16. Ibid.
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17. Giddings, When and Where I Enter, pp. 70-71.
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18. Prestage and Williams, “Blacks in Louisiana Politics,” p. 298.
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19. See “Black Women Attack the Lynching System,” in Black Women in White America: A Documentary History, ed. Gerda Lerner (New York: Vintage Books, 1972), pp. 196-198.
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21. Giddings, When and Where I Enter, p. 160.
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22. Ibid., pp. 159-65.
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24. Prestage and Williams, “Blacks in Louisiana Politics,” p. 299.
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26. John Pierce, William Avery, and Addison Carey, Jr., “Sex Differences in Black Political Beliefs and Behaviors,”American Journal of Political Science, May 1973, 422-430.
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29. Edward T. Clayton, The Negro Politician (Chicago: Johnson, 1964), pp. 122-148.
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30. See the discussion in Jewel L. Prestage, “Black Politics and the Kerner Report: Concerns and Directions,”Social Science Quarterly, 49:453-464 (Dec. 1968).
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31. Patricia Gurin, Shirley Hatchett, and James S. Jackson, Hope and Independence: Blacks' Response to Electoral and Party Politics (New York: Russell Sage, 1989), p. 53.
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32. Gerald Davis Jaynes and Robin M. Williams, Jr., eds., A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1989), pp. 234-235.
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35. Jewel L. Prestage, “Black Women State Legislators: A Profile,” in Portrait of Marginality, ed. Prestage and Githens, pp. 401-418.
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38. Deckard, Woman's Movement, p. 346.
39.
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40. Joseph A. Schlesinger, Ambition and Politics: Political Careers in the United States (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966), p. 1.
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41. Pauline T. Stone, “Ambition Theory and the Black Politician,”Western Political Quarterly, 33:94-107 (Mar. 1980).
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45. Chafe, Women and Equality, p. 109.
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47.
47. Shelby Lewis, “A Liberation Ideology: The Intersection of Race, Sex and Class,” in Women Rights, Feminism and Politics in the United States, ed. Mary L. Shanley (Washington, DC: American Political Science Association, 1982) pp. 38-42.
48.
48. Susan Welch and Lee Sigelman, “A Black Gender Gap?”Social Science Quarterly, 70:120-123 (Mar. 1989).
