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Chapter 14
For the Culture: Examining the Electoral Success of
African American Incumbents in the U.S. Congress
Emmitt Y. Riley, III
DePauw University
“Higher we go, beg and plead for the culture” – Migos
INTRODUCTION
In a country where African Americans were once slaves, denied citizenship and political
office, and relegated to second-class status, a central concern of African American
politics has been the benefits of political representation. Political Scientist Hanes Walton
Jr. argues that the rise of African American politicians should significantly improve the
lives of African Americans because these politicians will utilize their elected office to
represent African Americans and pursue policies that will dismantle the legacy of racism
for African Americans. 1 Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African
American politicians have won many seats in the United States Congress, yet few
studies have explored the electoral success of these politicians. All too often scholars
have attributed their success to the creation of majority-minority congressional districts
and provided very little attention toward how they represent their constituencies; to be
sure, multiple contours have contributed to the electoral success of African American
congressional incumbents.
In congressional elections from 1970 to 2012, while majority-minority
congressional district are one factor that provides African American House Members
1
Hanes Walton Jr., Black Politics: A Theoretical and Structural Analysis (Philadelphia: J.
B. Lippincott, 1972).