This dynamic and comprehensive text from nationally renowned scholars continues to demonstrate the profound influence African Americans have had―and continue to have―on American politics. Using two interrelated themes―the idea of universal freedom and the concept of minority–majority coalitions―the text demonstrates how the presence of Africans in the United States affected the founding of the Republic and its political institutions and processes. The authors show that through the quest for their own freedom in the United States, African Americans have universalized and expanded the freedoms of all Americans. New to the Ninth Edition • Updated sections on intersectionality, dealing with issues of race and gender. • Updated section on African American music, to include the role of Hip Hop. • Updated sections on mass media coverage of African Americans and the African American celebrity impact on politics, adding new mention of the CROWN Act and the politics of Black hair. • Updated section on the "Black Lives Matter" movement, adding a new section on the "Me Too" movement. • Updated sections on African Americans in Congress, with a new mention of the Squad. • Updated voting behavior through the 2020 elections, connecting the Obama years with the new administration. • A comparison of the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. • A discussion of the way in which race contributes to the polarization of American politics in the 2020 presidential campaign. • An analysis of the racial attitudes of President Trump, and the institutionally racist policies of his administrations. • Updated chapter on state and local politics, including a new section on state executive offices and Black mayors. • Updated sections on material well-being indicators, adding a new section on the coronavirus pandemic and the Black community. • The first overall assessment of the Obama administration in relation to domestic and foreign policy and racial politics. "In the ninth edition of American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom , Professors Robert C. Smith and Sherri L. Wallace have updated the best African American politics book in the nation. This volume contains a wealth of information about the continuing quest of African American candidates and voters for economic and political power. By writing such a fine book, the authors have continued to further the legacy of the 'Dean of Black Politics'―the late Professor Hanes Walton, Jr." Sharon D. Wright Austin, Professor of Political Science, The University of Florida "Characterizing it as an undergraduate textbook undersells what American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom truly is. The authors demonstrate in painstaking detail that U.S. politics doesn’t make sense without explicitly considering race. Appreciating freedom means coming to grips with the reality that so many were initially denied it and died fighting for it. The nation progresses―often begrudgingly―towards its ideal of Democracy because of these Freedom Struggles. Such efforts, while central to Black politics, have improved the conditions of every American." Ray Block, Jr., Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies, The Pennsylvania State University "The ninth edition of American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom provides timely updates to this seminal introductory Black Politics textbook. The authors expand on their critical assessments of social movements and presidential politics to explore the recent expansion of the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement, as well as policies of the Trump administration leading up to the 2020 presidential election." Diarra O. Robertson, Associate Professor of Government, Bowie State University " American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom is the most comprehensive book on African American politics in the political science discipline. It situates White supremacy and institutional racism as central to American exceptionalism and illustrates how African Americans have contested the boundaries of the U.S. constitutional process and political institutions. The book further provides a layered portrait―from the perspective of African American lawmakers, leaders, activists, policymakers, and opinion leaders―of the U.S. political culture, federalism, media and politics, and foreign policy." Sekou Franklin, Associate Professor, Middle Tennessee State University "Without question, American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom is the premier textbook in the field of Black Politics. The ninth edition shines in multiple ways. It provides readers with a firm grounding in how today’s struggles against racial inequality―from socioeconomic exclusion, health disparities, police- and state-sanctioned antiblack violence, limited political empowerment, and inequities in wealth accumulation―are rooted squarely in America’s failure to reconcile its ex