ABSTRACT
A major dimension of the malaise of black politics is evidenced by the fact that analysts of black politics, especially black analysts, endlessly lament what they see as the lack of purpose in black politics in actual practice. This chapter focuses on the status and thrust of African-American politics by viewing them through the conceptual and analytical lens of ethnicity. It aims to provoke scholarly and practical discourse about African-American politics from a fresh, and perhaps controversial, perspective which might in turn lead to consideration of some of the issues raised and implied herein in a more structured research agenda. The chapter discusses the ethnic experience in America as a means of rounding out an analytical canvas against which to contemplate the evolving status of blacks in the United States and the state of black politics. It raises questions about what the current state of practical politics and scholarly considerations in African-American politics portend for the future of black America.
