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This book contributes substantially to urban affairs and public policy literature by presenting an introduction to the complex politics and public policy issues of Washington, D.C. The uniqueness of the city, as elaborated in this volume, provides background for understanding the non-traditional congressional relationship with the city and the way in which this establishes and perpetuates the continuing fight for congressional representation, real home rule and equitable federal benefits for citizens of the District of Columbia. Usually becoming a mayor, member of a city council, or agency head in a major city could become a stepping stone to higher office. In Washington, D.C. however, this has not been the case. Contests for political leadership operate in a unique political climate because Washington, D.C is the capital of the U.S., subject to congressional oversight, has a majority African American population, and has a majority Democratic population. Those who become mayor are therefore, confined to play a local with rare opportunities for a national role. One Objective of this volume is to highlight the difficulties of experiencing political democracy and adequate policy distribution by citizens of the District of Columbia. These analyses conclude that one of the major obstacles to these objectives is the manner in which home rule was constructed and persists, leading to the conclusion that the desire of citizens and their leaders for change is well founded.
This book contributes substantially to urban affairs and public policy literature by presenting an introduction to the complex politics and public policy issues of Washington, D.C. The uniqueness of the city, as elaborated in this volume, provides background for understanding the non-traditional congressional relationship with the city and the way in which this establishes and perpetuates the continuing fight for congressional representation, real home rule and equitable federal benefits for citizens of the District of Columbia. Usually becoming a mayor, member of a city council, or agency head in a major city could become a stepping stone to higher office. In Washington, D.C. however, this has not been the case. Contests for political leadership operate in a unique political climate because Washington, D.C is the capital of the U.S., subject to congressional oversight, has a majority African American population, and has a majority Democratic population. Those who become mayor are therefore, confined to play a local with rare opportunities for a national role. One Objective of this volume is to highlight the difficulties of experiencing political democracy and adequate policy distribution by citizens of the District of Columbia. These analyses conclude that one of the major obstacles to these objectives is the manner in which home rule was constructed and persists, leading to the conclusion that the desire of citizens and their leaders for change is well founded.
Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 1. Introduction: An Administered System of Government Chapter 3 2. Home Rule for Washington, D.C. Chapter 4 3. Walter Washington: Mayor Of the Last Colony Chapter 5 4. Marion Barry: A Politician for the Times Chapter 6 5. Sharon Pratt Kelly: The Reform Mayor Chapter 7 6. The High Tide of Pragmatic Black Politics: Mayor Anthony Williams and the Suppression of Black Interests Chapter 8 7. The Mayor as the Head School Master Chapter 9 8. Can Washington, D.C. Youth Speak? Chapter 10 9. Banished Housing Policy Chapter 11 10. Democracy and Its Impact on Rehabilitative Resources Chapter 12 11. The Dynamics of Poverty in the District of Columbia Chapter 13 12. Communicating Liberation Chapter 14 13. Conclusion
Ronald W. Walters is director of the African American Leadership Institute and professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland. His many books include Black Presidential Politics, winner of the American Political Science Association's Ralph Bunche Prize and White Nationalism, Black Interests, an "academic best seller," covered by C-SPAN. Toni-Michelle Travis is an associate professor and Program Director of African American Studies at George Mason University. She is the faculty representative to the Board of Visitors' Committee on Equity and Diversity. She has been a member of the Public and International Affairs Department since 1984.
The struggle for full democratic self-government and for full
congressional voting rights in the House continues unabated… These
authors take a fresh look at how the first elected officials to
govern the District of Columbia defined self-government for the
city amidst the problems and dilemmas they found. The nation should
be grateful to these authors for what their insights tell us about
government in the modern nation's capital and, inadvertently, about
the nature of governing in the nation itself.
*Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delegate of the District of Columbia,
from the foreword*
This volume is very timely as it offers the reader a case study of
the struggle for full democracy in the Nation's capital at a time
when the United States is actively seeking to establish and promote
democracy internationally. This volume offers important insights
into the successes and failures of executive leadership in the
District of Columbia thereby providing students of political
science and governance a wealth of case materials not previously
available. Most important, this volume show cases the political
conflicts in the city's struggle to achieve control over its
governance and to achieve local representation for its
residents.
*Stephen S. Fuller, Director, Center for Regional Analysis, George
Mason University*
The Declaration of Independence asserts that governments derive
their just powers from the consent of the governed, but American
citizens who live in the District of Columbia see their elected
local government overruled by a Congress in which they have no
voting representative. This impressive anthology explains why the
District achieved only limited home rule in 1973, and how this
anomalous form of local government has shaped a wide range of
public policies ever since.
*Zachary M. Schrag, author of The Great Society Subway: A History
of the Washington Metro*
The essays contained in this volume are at once timely and
revealing. They explain in penetrating detail why Washington D. C.
is often referred to as the "last colony." Using a combination of
case studies and probing policy analysis, this volume shatters the
myth that city governance in Washington is impossible without the
intervention of the heavy hand of the federal government. The
contributors to this volume demonstrate convincingly that as long
as racism is an omnipresent and highly institutionalized factor in
the administration of city affairs in Washington, the absence of
home rule and self government in the nation's capital will continue
to resound as a problem in democracy for the United States as a
whole. This volume is long overdue. It should be essential reading
for every federal official and local politician involved in the
shaping of the city's future.
*William E. Nelson, Ohio State University*
Every American has a responsibility to understand the unique
challenges facing our federal capital—particularly because the
citizens of Washington, D.C. do not have their own fully empowered
representation in Congress. Respected scholars Ronald Walters and
Toni-Michelle Travis have assembled a superb group of contributors
who present us with the unvarnished truth about D.C. And the truth
is the first step to solving some of the intractable problems that
plague both the District and the entire nation.
*Larry J. Sabato, director, University of Virginia Center for
Politics and author of The Kenneday Half-Century*
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