Early in the 20th century, Chicago was "the seventh heaven" of political activity for African-Americans. In no city had African-American empowerment proceeded as far. But from the 1950s to the election of Harold Washington in 1983, Chicago was considered a glaring example of African-American subordination and powerlessness. This transformation presents excellent conditions for analysis of the processes of political empowerment and the rollback of political power. The author challenges the conventional wisdom that political machines represent a "ladder" for minority empowerment. Rather, electoral competition among white factions or parties created the conditions under which African-American voters could determine electoral outcomes and African-American leaders could bargain for group empowerment.
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