American Politics Commons^™

Pamphlet: From Women Win ’96 To Edna Saffy. “Women Win ’96.”

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

On reverse: “Rally with us in Chicago!” Invitation for a fund-raising celebration. June, 1996.

Fax: The White House Office Of The Press Secretary, April 18, 1996, The White House

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

A fax sent regarding remarks by President Clinton upon arrival at Pulkova Airport, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Fax: Rsvp To Hoopla From E. Saffy.

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Fax for event at Democratic National Convention in 1996. A note written on the side reads “really enjoyed Brady’s speech in Jacksonville a few months ago.”

Florida Democratic Party 1995 Issues Platform Report, Platform Committee On Issues And Resolution

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Report from the Platform Committee on Issues and Resolution December 8-10, 1995.

Letter, To Dr. Ed Napier From Edna Saffy, September 25, 1995, Edna Louise Saffy

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Letter to Dr. Ed Napier From Edna Saffy, Ph.D. referencing reimbursement for July 1995 Meeting of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Florida Community College at Jacksonville South Campus letterhead.

Puerto Rican Politics In The United States: A Preliminary Assessment, José E. Cruz

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines the following question: What characterizes Puerto Rican political development and what promise does electoral politics hold for Puerto Ricans in the United States? Its central premise is that an analytical framework which focuses on economic deprivation and racial prejudice is partial and inadequate to an understanding of the political experience of Puerto Ricans. Throughout the years, mainland Puerto Ricans have moved in and out of the political stage holding the banners of anti-colonialism, separatism, incorporation, and ethnic identity in search of vantage points from which they can satisfy their cultural, social, and economic needs. Despite the Airbus …

Mexican-American Class Structure And Political Participation, Jorge Chapa

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article examines the political attitudes and participation of Mexican-Americans in the context of Milton Gordon's assimilation theory and William Julius Wilson's analyses of bifurcated economic structures resulting in middle-class and lower- or underclass populations. For Gordon, civic assimilation was a step toward complete assimilation. After demonstrating that the Mexican-American population has not achieved parity with the Anglo population even when controlling for generational differences over five decades, the author specifically examines the political attitudes and practices of lower-class (high school dropouts) and middle-class (high school graduates) third-generation Mexican-Americans. The two class groups have similar attitudes about bilingual education and …

"New" Civil Rights Strategies For Latino Political Empowerment, Seth Racusen

New England Journal of Public Policy

Latinos became the largest "minority" group and significantly increased their political representation in Massachusetts in the past decade. Even with these gains, their political power is not nearly commensurate with the size of their population. Many aspects of Latino political demographics, including a large immigrant population with low citizenship rates, high poverty rates, and dispersion across many electoral districts, contribute to their underrepresentation. The political demographics facing Massachusetts Latinos have led many analysts to prescribe alternative electoral systems as avenues to achieve increased political representation. This article reviews the critiques of the 1970s and 1980s civil rights redistricting strategies and …

Latina Women And Political Leadership: Implications For Latino Community Empowerment, Carol Hardy-Fanta

New England Journal of Public Policy

Mainstream studies of Latino politics have tended to reflect a primarily male view of political participation and political leadership. In such a view, the study of Latino political leadership continues the tradition of viewing leadership as derived from official positions in elected or appointed office and informal organizations. This article demonstrates that (1) contrary to prevailing myths, Latina women in Massachusetts run for and are elected to office in very high numbers, and (2) when the definition of political leadership is expanded to include community-based, not solely position-derived, forms of leadership, Latino community empowerment may depend, to a great extent, …

The Political Activity Of Social Workers: A Post-Reagan Update, Mark Ezell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports the findings of a survey that examined the political activism of social workers and what changes may have occurred in their political participation during the Reagan years. Social workers are politically active largely by writing letters to public officials but also by discussing political issues with friends, by belonging to politically active organizations and by attending political meetings. In addition, a substantial proportion of social workers make campaign contributions and get involved in candidate elections. Among social workers, those with the highest educational degrees, those who are NASW members, those who are in macro type jobs, and …

Voting Policy And Voter Participation: The Legacy Of The 1980s, Alex Willingham

Trotter Review

It has been widely recognized, at least since the Selma march during the civil rights movement, that the interests of black citizens and other minorities are directly connected to their capacity to participate in the political process and to public policies that protect that option. The clear message of the Selma demonstration was that, for a people constrained by a broad range of oppressive racist structures, voting is a basic resource for protecting all other rights. Further, it was clear that those who control power will restrict access to the ballot as their main line of defense.

Vote Dilution Research: Methods Of Analysis, Sheila Ards, Marjorie Lewis

Trotter Review

Why have issues which disproportionately affect African Americans not been brought to the policy forefront and given attention properly so that effective solutions can be found? Because of their roles as controllers of the government's budget, politicians and other policy makers decide which problems will be addressed. It is important, therefore, that African Americans elect political candidates of their choice. In the past, African Americans largely were outside the arena of public policy setting. Thus, solutions to problems which disproportionately affected African Americans were not pursued.

Race And Presidential Politics '92: The Challenge To Go Another Way, May Louie

Trotter Review

At presidential election time in 1992, America is once again looking at limited political options for national leadership. The Republican party platform is its most conservative ever. The Democratic party ticket is dominated by southern Dixiecrats. And we who have marched and organized, and risked and sacrificed much for racial equality and political empowerment, must now match our sense of foreboding with our determination to meet the challenge before us. Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 nation-shaking, agenda-setting presidential campaigns took us to places we had never been before and gave us a glimpse at the possibility of racial and economic …

A Moral Appeal To President George Bush, Jesse Jackson

Trotter Review

The following is the text of a letter written by Reverend Jesse Jackson to President George Bush dated May 1, 1991, as a plea for statehood for the District of Columbia, where 650,000 citizens are politically disenfranchised.

Black Women And The American Political System, Dorothy A. Clark

Trotter Review

Black women and politics—it is an association rarely made by the American electorate. As a group, black women have never been prominent players in the nation's political arena. In a system of decision making and power holding designed and dominated by white men, black women are an alien group in the formal political process. Their participation in that process has been limited—indeed often blocked—by a hierarchical system of race, gender, and class oppression that relegates black women to the lowest rungs of the political power ladder.

Ron Daniels: Profile Of A Presidential Candidate, Harold Horton

Trotter Review

The mass media has said very little about it, but Ron Daniels, an African American, is a presidential candidate. In 1988, Daniels was the southern regional coordinator and deputy campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's campaign. Daniels, a veteran social and political activist as well as former director of the National Rainbow Coalition, declared his candidacy for president at a news conference October 14, 1991.

From 1974 to 1980, Daniels served as president of the National Black Political Assembly and in 1980, he was the chairperson of the founding convention of the National Black Independent Political Party. Daniels was the convener …

A Historic Moment: Black Voters And The 1992 Presidential Race, Clarence Lusane

Trotter Review

November 2, 1991, may well be remembered as a watershed date in the unique and quixotic 1992 presidential race. On that day, stating that he would "not seek the nomination for the Democratic Party," Jesse Jackson backed out of the presidential campaign spotlight and started a chain reaction that has put the black vote in perhaps its least influential position since before 1984.

Extremely low black voter turnout was one of the most significant trends of the 1992 primaries. In the Democratic contests, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton won an impressive percentage of black votes, about 70 percent. However, those votes …

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

This special issue of the Trotter Review is devoted to a broad range of topics related to race, power, and voting. Although voting is a critically important political tool for black America, the vote does not necessarily guarantee that a group will enjoy power in society. At the same time that we seek greater rates of voter registration and turnout at all levels of the electoral process, we must also continue to struggle towards an agenda that delivers power to the black community.

The issue opens with an explanation of why statehood for Washington, D.C., should be a key item …

Handout: Sample Ballot Florida Democratic Party Delegate Ballot, Florida Democratic Party

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Delegate ballot for the 1992 Democratic National Convention. Date: 01/21/1992. Box 10 Folder 7

Report: The Florida Delegate Selection Plan For The 1992 Democratic National Convention Summary Plan, Florida Democratic Party

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

The Florida Delegate Selection Plan for the 1992 Democratic National Convention Summary Plan. Outlined Florida delegate selection plan for the 1992 Democratic National Convention. Includes sections: I. Summary of Plan, II. Selections of Delegates and Alternates. III. Selection of Standing Committee Members, IV. Selection of the Delegation Chair and Convention Pages, V. General Provisions and Procedural Guarantees, VI. Affirmative Action Plan, VII. Challenges and Exhibits. Date: 1991. Box 10 Folder 7

Credentials: Florida Democratic Party 1991 State Convention Delegate And Honored Guest Credentials, Florida Democratic Party

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Florida Democratic Party 1991 State Convention Delegate and Honored Guest Credentials. Front: Image of the state of Florida with a flag banner twining around the state. Florida Democratic Leadership Campaign 92. Yesterday Today & Tomorrow. Florida Democratic Party 1991 State Convention December 13-15, 1991. Buena Vista Palace Orlando Florida, DELEGATE. Back: Handwritten Edna Saffy Buena Vista Palace Room 773. . Front: Florida Democratic Leadership Campaign 92. Yesterday Today & Tomorrow. Florida Democratic Party 1991 State Convention December 13-15, 1991. Buena Vista Palace Orlando Florida, Honored Guest. Box 10 Folder 7

Correspondence: Letter From Office Of The Mayor Of Jacksonville, March 25, 1991, Thomas L. Hazouri

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

A letter from Mayor Thomas L. Hazouri to Dr. Edna L. Saffy with congratulations for the Building Bridges: Building Community Conference.

Card: Florida Democratic Party 1991 State Convention Letterhead Card, Florida Democratic Party

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Card with letterhead for the Florida Democratic Party 1991 Sate Convention. Graphic: outline of Florida with American flag banner wrapping around the state, Campaign 92. 1991. Box 10 Folder 7

Handout: Florida Democratic Delegate Selection 1992 Handout, Florida Democratic Party

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Florida Democratic Delegate Selection 1992 Handout listing how to become a delegate or alternate. Date: 1991. Box 10 Folder 7

The Presidential Primary: A Faulty Process, Douglas A. Fraser, Irving Bluestone

New England Journal of Public Policy

The system of presidential primary elections has in effect created a nonsystem for selecting party candidates for the highest office in the nation. Personality has become the substitute for program content, and campaign spending coupled with the influence of the media counts for more than the candidates' experience, knowledge, expertise, administrative ability, and attachment to the policies and programs of their respective political party. In large measure the current presidential primary system has failed in its objective to advance the democratic process within the political parties while undermining the effectiveness of the parties and the importance of activists, the party …

Political Participation Of Puerto Rican Women: Mapping A Research Agenda, Sherrie Baver

Publications and Research

This article reviews the theoretical approaches used to study Hispanic women in politics and highlights their inadequacies for studying the political behavior of low-income Puerto Rican women, who are used as a case in point. It is not an in-depth study but an effort to develop appropriate research questions and to suggest strategies for the systematic collection of data. In general, community groups are the basic arena for the political activity of Puerto Rican women in New York City. Thus, new theoretical approaches are necessary to capture Hispanic women’s modes of influencing public policy.

Flyer: Vote Dick Gephardt For President

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

On reverse: “The common theme is common sense,” list of accomplishments. March 8, 1988.

Flyer: Old Time Rally On The River.

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

A rally for Congressman Dick Gephardt, Democrat for President. Jacksonville Landing. February 26. Circa 1988.

The Search For Voice: Ideology And Perspective In The Black Community, Phillip L. Clay

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

During the last seven years there has been a significant shift to the right in the ideological perspectives of American political institutions and behavior. Despite some inconsistencies, the direction is clear. The term "moderate" has acquired a conservative meaning, and liberals have been split into neo-liberal and neoconservative camps. At this moment American society is informally declaring that it is not committed to achieving the goal of equal outcomes long espoused by a mainly liberal national political and institutional system.

The shift to the right is working changes on traditional black ideological perspectives, both among blacks and between black and …

Registering The Poor To Vote: Lessons From The 1984 General Election, Ira Colby

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Voter registration and educational programs for the poor and moderate income groups were a dominant political strategy embraced by a number of social welfare organizations during the 1984 general election. This article reviews one such project that registered 4,124 individuals and implemented a follow-up survey of 500 new registrants. Based on the survey, the author identifies a number of voting and nonvoting behaviors that should be considered in future voter registration and education projects. The author also identifies critical policy issues that impede voter participation among the poor.