For all the talk about a new postracial America, the fundamental realities of American racism--and the problems facing black political movements--have not changed. Michael C. Dawson lays out a nuanced analysis of the persistence of racial inequality and structural disadvantages, and the ways that whites and blacks continue to see the same problems--the disastrous response to Katrina being a prime example--through completely different, race-inflected lenses. In fact, argues Dawson, the new era heralded by Barack Obama's election is more racially complicated, as the widening class gap among African Americans and the hot-button issue of immigration have the potential to create new fissures for conservative and race-based exploitation. Through a thoughtful analysis of the rise of the Tea Party and the largely successful "blackening" of President Obama, Dawson ultimately argues that black politics remains weak--and that achieving the dream of racial and economic equality will require the sort of coalition-building and reaching across racial divides that have always marked successful political movements. Polemical but astute, passionate but pragmatic, Not in Our Lifetimes forces us to rethink easy assumptions about racial progress--and begin the hard work of creating real, lasting change.

In "Black Visions," Michael Dawson brings us the most comprehensive analysis to date of the complex relationship of black political thought to black political identity and behavior. Combining a historical perspective with conceptual sophistication and empirical evidence, Dawson identifies which political ideologies are supported by blacks, then traces their historical roots and examines their effects on black public opinion, not only among intellectuals and activists, but also at the grassroots level.
Although many (mostly white) commentators have argued that black political thought falls within the realm of American liberalism, many black commentators regard black political thought as a rejection of this liberalism. Here, Dawson argues that black visions are more varied and complex. Black ideologies, such as radical egalitarianism, disillusioned liberalism, and black conservatism do criticize American liberalism while still accepting its basic tenets. But other ideologies-black nationalism, black feminism, and black Marxism--challenge one or more of the premises of American liberalism. Ultimately, Dawson provocatively argues that the rise of a black counterpublic in the nineteenth century made the development of distinctive currents of black political thought possible. Based on the most extensive study of black public opinion to date, Dawson shows how each ideology still affects blacks' views on such issues as their position in American society, the nature of whites, and separatism.
Ranging from Frederick Douglass to rap artist Ice Cube, Dawson brilliantly illuminates the history and current role of black political thought in shaping political debate in America.

Political scientists and social choice theorists often assume that economic diversification within a group produces divergent political beliefs and behaviors. Michael Dawson demonstrates, however, that the growth of a black middle class has left race as the dominant influence on African- American politics. Why have African Americans remained so united in most of their political attitudes? To account for this phenomenon, Dawson develops a new theory of group interests that emphasizes perceptions of "linked fates" and black economic subordination.

The radical black left that played a crucial role in twentieth-century struggles for equality and justice has largely disappeared. Michael Dawson investigates the causes and consequences of the decline of black radicalism as a force in American politics and argues that the conventional left has failed to take race sufficiently seriously as a historical force in reshaping American institutions, politics, and civil society.

African Americans have been in the vanguard of progressive social movements throughout American history, but they have been written out of many histories of social liberalism. Focusing on the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the Black Power movement, Dawson examines successive failures of socialists and Marxists to enlist sympathetic blacks, and white leftists refusal to fight for the cause of racial equality. Angered by the often outright hostility of the Socialist Party and similar social democratic organizations, black leftists separated themselves from these groups and either turned to the hard left or stayed independent. A generation later, the same phenomenon helped fueled the Black Power movement s turn toward a variety of black nationalist, Maoist, and other radical political groups.

The 2008 election of Barack Obama notwithstanding, many African Americans still believe they will not realize the fruits of American prosperity any time soon. This pervasive discontent, Dawson suggests, must be mobilized within the black community into active opposition to the social and economic status quo. Black politics needs to find its way back to its radical roots as a vital component of new American progressive movements."

In "Black Visions," Michael Dawson brings us the most comprehensive analysis to date of the complex relationship of black political thought to black political identity and behavior. Combining a historical perspective with conceptual sophistication and empirical evidence, Dawson identifies which political ideologies are supported by blacks, then traces their historical roots and examines their effects on black public opinion, not only among intellectuals and activists, but also at the grassroots level.
Although many (mostly white) commentators have argued that black political thought falls within the realm of American liberalism, many black commentators regard black political thought as a rejection of this liberalism. Here, Dawson argues that black visions are more varied and complex. Black ideologies, such as radical egalitarianism, disillusioned liberalism, and black conservatism do criticize American liberalism while still accepting its basic tenets. But other ideologies-black nationalism, black feminism, and black Marxism--challenge one or more of the premises of American liberalism. Ultimately, Dawson provocatively argues that the rise of a black counterpublic in the nineteenth century made the development of distinctive currents of black political thought possible. Based on the most extensive study of black public opinion to date, Dawson shows how each ideology still affects blacks' views on such issues as their position in American society, the nature of whites, and separatism.
Ranging from Frederick Douglass to rap artist Ice Cube, Dawson brilliantly illuminates the history and current role of black political thought in shaping political debate in America.