ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the emergence of the new cohort of black leadership and explores the basic demographic record of the current crop of young black elected leadership to introduce a new model of black leadership to describe the post-civil rights cohort. There are several iterations of new black politics in the post-civil rights era, such as the widespread election of the first black elected officials in the 1970s and the successes of black candidates in major elections in majority-white jurisdictions in the 1980s. The iterations also include the rise of young, black moderates, many of whom challenge members of the first wave of black elected officials in majority-black cities and congressional districts. Politicians who run deracialized campaigns, would naturally be far less militant and more likely to have greater levels of crossover appeal than those who do run racialized campaigns. New Activists are characterized by low crossover appeal, weak ties to the black establishment and long perceived trajectories.
