"Scholars and observers of African American politics will want to take note of this volume. Over the past decade, a new generation of African American leaders has emerged on the political landscape. With them have surfaced old and new questions about the state of black politics. This volume is one of the first works to systematically analyze these new leaders and their political styles. Professor Gillespie and her contributors offer fresh theoretical insights and a compelling framework and typology for studying this next wave of African American politicians. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the contemporary black politics and its significance for broader American politics." —Kerry L. Haynie, Duke University "These empirically sagacious and theoretically provocative case studies are the best work yet on the transformations in African American politics that produced Barack Obama." —Robert C. Smith, San Francisco State University "Whose Black Politics is an important text that tracks a generational shift in black politics. Gillespie offers a compelling analysis of how we might understand the transition of black politicians from grassroots activists to Harvard trained attorneys. Students of black politics will learn a lot and find much to debate from Gillespie's work." —Mark Sawyer, University of California Los Angeles