ABSTRACT
Virtually all political scientists are committed to the idea that a competitive party system is indispensable to the effective operation of any democracy. In general, in a separation of powers, two-party system polarizations of the parties is a recipe for incoherence, inconsistency, irresponsibility, and gridlock in policy making, often with abrupt changes in policy as party control of government alternates. The African American role in the process began with the challenge by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to the seating of the all-white Mississippi delegation at the 1964 convention. In order to leverage their influence in the Democratic Party, blacks have sought the party's presidential nomination. Thus, for most of American history, blacks have faced a no-party system, as from 1787 until the 1860s both major parties ignored the major issue of concern to blacks— freedom. In the latter half of the twentieth century, African Americans played a major role in this democratization process.
