Valerie C. Johnson. Black Power in the Suburbs: The Myth or Reality of African American Suburban Political Incorporation (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002), x + 227 pp.; ISBN 0-7914-5528-9 (paper).

Valerie C. Johnson offers a unique study of African Americans in Prince George County, an area outside of James M Washington, D.C., located in eastern Maryland. While existing studies of rural and urban African Americans are numerous, especially the latter, the focus on black suburbanites in politics is rare indeed. In this regard, coupled with the emphasis on Black Power, the study appears to be quite novel. Johnson chronicles the rise of the black population in Prince George County. This chronology speaks of important increases in racial representation in areas including the county police, the county governing board, the school board, and other organizational and policymaking entities. Only by duplicating Johnson's study in other suburban entities of large cities will it allow scholars to understand the extent of political incorporation for the black middle and lower classes. Or, put more simply, money does not always buy influence for an affluent class of people.