21st Century Urban Race Politics: Representing Minorities as Universal Interests

21st Century Urban Race Politics: Representing Minorities as Universal Interests offers an understanding of minority representation in historically majority-Caucasian cities and draws on case studies in cities throughout the United States. The volume takes stock of what we know about the advantages and disadvantages of the "racialized" and "deracialized" approaches to governance and describes a third "universalized interest" approach. It is argued that minority elected officials, when given the power and resources to do so, often do more than represent constituent interests without acknowledging the representation of members of their racial/ethnic group in urban communities. Contributors address how mayors of various backgrounds have sought to represent minority interest in electoral and governing contexts. With case studies from across the United States, the volume provides a vivid account of how different minority mayors have handled minority representation in historically majority-Caucasian cities and what lessons academics and politicians can learn from them.