There is both hope and peril in the success of black politicians who cross the color line in search of high office. Seeing blacks achieve what for so long had been for whites only is indeed a proud moment. At the same time, this enthusiasm must be tempered by the fact that their triumph at the polls comes at the expense of some measure of cultural integrity. Nonetheless, the political reality of the 1990s dictates that crossover appeal to white voters is a necessary requirement for sustained black participation in the electoral process. The election of David Dinkins as mayor of New York City and L. Douglas Wilder as governor of Virginia are two perfect examples.
Race and racism were major factors in both the New York and Virginia campaigns. The unexpected closeness of both races led some experts to suggest that many white voters lied in polls about their voting for a black candidate. In Virginia, Wilder's pro-choice stance gave him the edge he needed to win. But even if both men lost their respective elections, that they ran as credible candidates symbolizes the maturation of political pragmatism in the black community.
Neither Dinkins nor Wilder qualify as activists. These two are establishment politicos who have paid their dues and believe that the best way to work for change is within the system. The fact that neither man could have won office without such a perspective will have a profound impact upon the nation and the wider black community. How much of an impact remains to be seen.
While still the premiere black politician in the nation, Rev. Jesse Jackson's role and influence on the national scene will certainly be challenged. Jackson has been extremely successful at inspiring people and bringing different marginalized groups together. Unfortunately, the energy that helped create the Rainbow Coalition has not been enough to rival the Democratic Party; instead, it has been relegated to the liberal wing of the party.
If Jackson decides to run for president in 1992 (assuming he does not run for mayor of Washington, D.C.) or 1996, there will be in place a number of crossover black politicians who could run against him -- politicians who are not offensive to whites and have experience gained from holding elected office. Presumably, these black candidates could engender black mass support, both from having provided adequate constituent services and from racial pride.
A preferable and more immediate scenario is the combination of both Jackson and crossover political insiders working together. They really do need each other. As an outside political force Jackson can still apply pressure in a manner insiders cannot. By providing leverage for black politicians on Capitol Hill, in statehouses, and in city halls across the country, both the common concerns shared with other minorities and whites, and those particular to blacks, can be addressed in the form of legislation.
All this is easier said than done. Demographics is the single most important reason behind the shift from bloc voting along racial lines to coalition building by black politicians. New York City is 25 percent black. Virginia is more than 80 percent white. As the first black politicians to win high visibility offices where the support of their primary constituency would not be enough to guarantee election, both Dinkins and Wilder were forced to align themselves with other groups. Now that they are in office, they will have their hands full trying to keep everybody happy.
It is a skill that future black politicians had best get used to applying. Political analysts are predicting that the 1990 census and the congressional redistricting that follows will either erode or eliminate the political bases of several black representatives currently serving in Congress. Political power, they say, will shift from urban and rural areas to the suburbs, from Democrats to Republicans, and from progressives to conservatives. Twenty out of 21 House seats in majority black districts are now held by blacks. Only two black members of Congress, Ron Dellums of California and Alan Wheat of Missouri, both Democrats, serve districts with a white plurality.
CROSSOVER POLITICS MAY SOUND new, but it is not. Mayors Tom Bradley in Los Angeles, Andrew Young in Atlanta, and Wilson Goode in Philadelphia, as well as Rep. Mike Espy of Mississippi, are walking a very fine line that pits racial solidarity against constituent concerns that must transcend racial and ethnic boundaries. Espy, for instance, is a supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA). In response to criticism from blacks who live outside his racially mixed district, Espy says, "This is a regional issue, not a black issue."
The election of blacks to top posts in New York City; the state of Virginia; Cleveland; Durham, North Carolina; New Haven, Connecticut; and Seattle indicates that for black elected officials such as these, the significance of race is twofold. First is the issue of whether or not whites and other ethnic groups will support a black candidate. Second, as black politicians become more ambitious and seek higher office, the need to accommodate and appease various interest groups becomes paramount.
Unlike white candidates, who have benefited from electoral reciprocity by blacks in the past, a double standard is applied to black candidates. For instance, there is no reason why Dinkins should have to apologize for his friendship with Jesse Jackson. Jackson's "hymietown" remark during the 1984 presidential primary in New York was thoughtless and insensitive. He has apologized repeatedly for his misstatement. Yet for many Jewish and other ethnic white voters in New York, guilt by association is considered a legitimate yardstick by which to measure someone's suitability for public office.
Negative campaigning is another racist tactic that was utilized in both the New York and Virginia campaigns. Rudolph Guiliani, who ran against Dinkins as the liberal Republican candidate, spent so much time hammering away at his opponent's mistakes and character that he became his own worst enemy. The same holds true for J. Marshall Coleman, Wilder's opponent. But while many voters stated their disappointment at the negative tone of the two campaigns, the slim margin of victory for both candidates seems to indicate it had an effect.
The increasingly plural nature of black activity in this country's political life is not a new phenomenon. Its roots lie in the socio-economic and political upheaval of the '60s and early '70s, and its progress is easily traced along class lines within the black community. As the black middle class has grown, its members have adopted the attitudes and priorities of their white counterparts. Voting in blocs, then, is done in the context of class, not race.
Another indication pointing toward the breakdown of black political hegemony is the increasing willingness of blacks to cross party lines. An example of this is the experience of outgoing Republican Gov. Thomas Kean of New Jersey. Kean won sizable black support in his landslide re-election bid in 1985. The generation gap separating blacks over and under age 30 also indicates fragile party loyalty. A recent poll conducted by the Wirthlin Group shows that 60 percent of blacks have a favorable view of President Bush. Many of those polled were college-educated, upwardly mobile blacks.
The reasons for this growing disparity reflect an acknowledgment that there are issues central to both blacks and whites. The biggest issues, of course, are crime and drugs. Blacks are just as likely as whites to support calls for the death penalty and increased police protection in neighborhoods.
Crossover black politicians, themselves middle class, run the risk of widening the schism between the black middle and lower classes. By aligning themselves with interests historically harmful to the black underclass -- big business, for example -- the neediest of the black community could actually experience no appreciable difference in their life circumstances. Still, it remains to be seen what accomplishments these politicians will achieve that will benefit both their race and their new wider constituency.
Anthony A. Parker was assistant editor of Sojourners when this article appeared.
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