Steadfast Democrats - (Princeton Studies in Political Behavior) by Ismail K White & Chryl N Laird

Steadfast Democrats: Why Black Americans Continue to Support the Party of Slavery, Segregation, and Racism Despite Decades of Conservative Shift is a groundbreaking book that uncovers the hidden forces behind Black Americans' political unity.

The authors, Ismail K.

White and Chryl N.

Laird, offer an innovative explanation for why Black Americans continue in political lockstep, shedding light on the motivations consolidating an influential portion of the American electoral population. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of survey data and original experiments to explore where and how Black political norms are enforced, revealing the unique social pressures that shape Black Americans' political choices.

Steadfast Democrats challenges conventional wisdom by arguing that individual dispositions, such as ideology and group identity, are not the primary drivers of Black political unity.

Instead, the authors demonstrate that racialized social constraint plays a crucial role in maintaining this unity. By examining the historical context of Black Americans' experiences with slavery, segregation, and racism, Steadfast Democrats reveals how these shared adversities forged uniquely strong social bonds for survival and resistance.

The book shows how these tight communities have continued to produce and enforce political norms, including Democratic Party identification in the post-Civil Rights era. Steadfast Democrats offers a fresh perspective on Black American politics, challenging assumptions about the relationship between race and political behavior.

This insightful book will be of interest to scholars and general readers alike, providing a deeper understanding of the complex factors shaping Black Americans' political choices.