Paula McClain - Böcker

American Government in Black and White: Diversity and Democracy, 7th Edition, is a unique introduction to American government that uses racial and ethnic equality as its underlying theme. Through the course of teaching students the standard topics about the American governmental system and politics, authors Paula D. McClain and Steven C. Tauber address issues of inequality in major facets of government including the U.S. Constitution, key American political institutions and instruments of political behavior, and the making of public policy. Using the original voices of racial and ethnic actors in our nation's history, they show students how to measure and evaluate the quest for and importance of equality in America, from its founding up to today.

Although considerable attention has been focused on the selection of minority candidates for political office, the impact of the increasing numbers of high-level minority administrative appointees has not been systematically examined. As the only work that reflects developments occurring in the 1980s, this volume presents the views of minority administrators together with analyses by three prominent scholars in the field. Six of the chapters are contributed by black, Hispanic, and Native American administrators who exercise substantial policy-making and decision-making authority. The group, which includes two women, consists of two city managers, two police chiefs, a deputy mayor, and the director of a quasi-governmental health organization.The editors' introduction to Chapter 1 provides a framework for analyzing the role of minority administrators and their impact on policy issues in urban settings. In the next chapter, the working environment, the constraints, the opportunities, and other factors that affect minority administrators are highlighted. Subsequent chapters explore the ways in which the demands of local governmental systems, traditional role expectations, peer pressures, and the expectations of minority communities influence these administrators' effectiveness and affect their perceptions of their responsibilities. It is clear that minority administrators confront unique pressures and conflicts in governmental systems that have not always been responsive to the concerns of minority groups. Their racial or ethnic loyalty is frequently questioned and applied as a test on critical issues by minority and majority communities alike. The editors conclude the volume with an examination of differences and similarities in the experiences of the contributing authors and attempt to place common issues in a broader context. Blending theoretical and practical perspectives, this volume offers informed, constructive analyses of a broad range of issues of concern to both minorities and the field of public administration. It will be important reading for students, administrators, and academics as well as the political leadership of black, Hispanic, and Native American communities.

In a nation built by immigrants and bedeviled by the history and legacy of slavery and discrimination, how do we, as Americans, reconcile a commitment to equality and freedom with persistent inequality and discrimination? And what can we do about it? This widely acclaimed text by Paula D. McClain, with new coauthor Jessica D. Johnson Carew, provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of the historical and contemporary political experience of the major groups-African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians-in the United States. It explores the similarities and differences in these groups' representation and participation in law, politics, and policymaking, discusses the enduring issues and concerns that they face, and examines intra- and inter-group competition and coalition-building in the face of enduring conflict and inequality. The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to include coverage of President Barack Obama's second term, the 2016 election, police brutality and Black Lives Matter, and the Dakota Access Pipeline protest movement. With a brand-new chapter on the intersections of race and gender, Can We All Get Along? remains unparalleled in its comparative coverage of the current landscape of minority politics in the United States.