Michael C. Dawson is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago.

• List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgmentsPt. 1Behind the Mule: The Historical Roots of African-American Group Interests11The Changing Class Structure of Black America and the Political Behavior of African Americans32Race, Class, and African-American Economic Polarization153The Politicization of African-American Racial Group Interests45Pt. 2African-American Political Behavior and Public Opinion694Models of African-American Racial and Economic Group Interests715African-American Partisanship and the American Party System966African-American Political Choice1307Racial Group Interests, African-American Presidential Approval, and Macroeconomic Policy1618Group Interests, Class Divisions, and African-American Policy Preferences1819Epilogue: Racial Group Interests, Class, and the Future of African-American Politics204Bibliography213Index227

Winner of the 1995 Outstanding Book Award, National Conference of Black Political Scientists "[Dawson's] insights are useful for opening discussions of the ideological underpinnings of African American political beliefs and behavior. Highly recommended."--Choice "Dawson's original analytics and wide-reaching empirical tests mark Behind the Mule as a new standard in the field of African-American politics."--American Political Science Review