Racial Solidarity and Political Participation

Abstract

Studies conducted in the 1960s and 1970s generally confirmed that racial group solidarity boosted rates of participation among African Americans. But since the 1980s, research has tended to conclude that the effect of solidarity on voter turnout among blacks and other minorities has moderated if not faded entirely. We hypothesize that part of this observed decline is explained by a dilution of measures of group solidarity in recent studies. We argue that a fair test of racial solidarity requires using a comprehensive measure that incorporates both psychological ''identification'' and the ideological beliefs that comprise ''consciousness.'' Moreover, we hypothesize that the effects of solidarity, will vary across forms of participation and be greatest on political activities that require group coordination. Our re-analysis of the 1984 NBES using separate measures of identification and consciousness indicates that the more narrowly circumscribed measures of these concepts used in recent studies are likely to have underestimated its influence on political participation. We show that racial identification and consciousness had a modest effect on voting turnout in 1984, but a significant influence on participation in several traditional campaign activities, petitioning government officials, and especially participation in protests and boycotts.

Flooding the Vote: Hurricane Katrina and Voter Participation in New Orleans

“…10 This suggests that the flooding of Katrina generated a collective identity: a feeling of group consciousness whereby individuals who experienced the worst devastation realized that they had the agency to cast a ballot to rebuild after Katrina. Chong and Rogers (2005) maintain that collective identity is derived both from identification of group membership as well as a conscious belief about the actions necessary to enact political change. They refer to this as the generation of solidarity.…”

Taking a Closer Look at Group Identity

“…Scholars interested in group identity have for example found that a sense of commonality and shared circumstances encourages groups to become involved politically (Stokes-Brown 2003; Sanchez 2006a; Chong 2005; Dawson, 1994), partially explaining relatively high rates of political participation among some disadvantaged groups. Although this recent research has greatly improved our understanding of how group identity is formed across racial and ethnic groups, several important research questions remain unanswered.…”

One Model Does Not Fit All: Group Consciousness and the Political Participation and Attitudes of American Indians

“…Group consciousness is a dominant concept in research on the political behavior and attitudes of racial and ethnic minorities. Although it has been defined and operationalized in numerous ways, most recent research defines it as an identity with a group that one sees as having a significant effect on one's life and being political relevant, that is, shared group interests, the group is treated negatively by those outside of the group, and collective action (Sanchez and Vargas, ; Miller et al., ; Sanchez, ; Chong and Roger, ; Austin‐Wright, Middleton, and Yon, ). Identity in this context is simply having a sense of belonging to the group.…”