This book provides an on the ground understanding of contemporary Black and mayoral politics.

Explores young black politicians' pursuit of diverse constituencies
At the beginning of the 21st-century, a vanguard of young, affluent black leadership has emerged, often clashing with older generations of black leadership for power. The 2002 Newark mayoral race, which featured a contentious battle between the young black challenger Cory Booker and the more established black incumbent Sharpe James, was one of a series of contests in which young, well-educated, moderate black politicians challenged civil rights veterans for power. In The New Black Politician, Andra Gillespie uses Newark as a case study to explain the breakdown of racial unity in black politics, describing how black political entrepreneurs build the political alliances that allow them to be more diversely established with the electorate.
Based on rich ethnographic data from six years of intense and ongoing research, Gillespie shows that while both poor and affluent blacks pay lip service to racial cohesion and to continuing the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, the reality is that both groups harbor different visions of how to achieve those goals and what those goals will look like once achieved. This, she argues, leads to class conflict and a very public breakdown in black political unity, providing further evidence of the futility of identifying a single cadre of leadership for black communities. Full of provocative interviews with many of the key players in Newark, including Cory Booker himself, this book provides an on the ground understanding of contemporary Black and mayoral politics.

"While centered on Booker's political life (his 1998 election to the Newark Municipal Council, when he defeated incumbent George Branch; his defeat in his 2002 run against Mayor Sharpe James, who held the office for 20 years (1986-2006); his successful campaign in 2006; his re-election in 2010), Gillespie fleshes out her account through reviews of relevant contemporary political theory and scores of interviews with largely political figures whose opinions about Booker are quite varied. The illustrations of campaign posters enliven and enrich the text." - Publishers Weekly

"The underlying study on which Andra Gillespie hangs this portrait of Booker is the phenomenon she labels the 'entrepreneurial black politician' who attempts to move out the old guardthe black officeholders who forged victories based on the fruits of the civil rights movement." - Newark Star Ledger

"The New Black Politicianwill be of interest to all who ponder [Cory] Booker's political future in New Jersey." - Star-Ledger Entertainment Desk

"Gillespie has performed the difficult task of objectively evaluating her personal acquaintances in a way that adds to the understanding of urban politics in general." - CHOICE

"[] Gillespie provides a noteworthy contribution to the scholarship of deracialization among Black politicians. Her work is certain to spark much debate about the dilemmas and implications of Black candidates running against each other in minority-majority jurisdictionsall while attempting to maintain true to the interests of the communities they serve." - National Political Science Review

"Anybody with an acute interest in the future of black politics in postracial" America should absolutely read this book." - The Trentorian