Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:24:35.633Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

POWER, IDENTITY, AND THE LIMITS OF AGENCY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2008

Mitchell Brown
Mitchell Brown*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Auburn University
*
Professor Mitchell Brown, Department of Political Science, Auburn University, 7080 Haley Center, Auburn, AL 36849. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the limits of “power to” and agency through an examination of the Barry administration in Washington, DC. I begin by asking why this administration, born of the civil rights movement and tremendous optimism, was unable to live up to its expectations. I provide an in-depth examination of Barry's efforts at reform, his popular appeal, and his appeal to business within the context of Washington's local political history. I find that Barry's power was constrained by a combination of structural factors, personal choices, the legacy of racism and racist exclusion, and a failed identity-deployment strategy. The findings have broader implications for the use of identity-deployment strategies for minority political leaders generally.

Keywords

Political PowerPolitical AgencyIdentity PoliticsWashington, DCMarion Barry
Type
STATE OF THE DISCIPLINE
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Fall 2008 , pp. 369 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agronsky, Jonathan I. Z. (1991). Marion Barry: The Politics of Race. Latham, NY: British American.Google Scholar
Bailey, Robert W. (1999). Gay Politics, Urban Politics: Identity and Economics in the Urban Setting. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Barras, Jonetta Rose (1998). The Last of the Black Emperors: The Hollow Comeback of Marion Barry in the New Age of Black Leaders. Baltimore, MD: Bancroft.Google Scholar
Benjaminson, Wendy (1985). D.C. Mayor: “We Are Still Enslaved.” United Press International, August 23.Google Scholar
Bernstein, Mary (1997). Celebration and Suppression: The Strategic Uses of Identity by the Lesbian and Gay Movement. American Journal of Sociology, 103(3): 531–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borger, Julian (1999). DC's Flamboyant Mayor Ends His Term in Scandal. Guardian (London), January 2. ⟨http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999/jan/02/julianborger7rang⟩ (accessed July 9, 2008).Google Scholar
Bredemeier, Kenneth and Marriott, Michel (1985). Barry Not Sharing Power, Hispanics Say. Washington Post, April 1, D1.Google Scholar
Brisbane, Arthur S. (1985). Barry Says Competitive Bidding Would Undermine Minority Program. Washington Post, July 30, C3.Google Scholar
Camp, Patricia (1980). The Mayor's Housing Program—One Year Later; Ambitious Effort to Fix Up Homes Will Now Cost $60 Million. Washington Post, March 16, A31.Google Scholar
Coleman, Milton (1978a). Barry Enters Mayor Race. Washington Post, January 22, B1.Google Scholar
Coleman, Milton (1978b). Marion Barry, Mayor-Elect: Questing After a National Reputation. Washington Post, December 14, DC1.Google Scholar
Coleman, Milton (1979a). May Supports Black Share in D.C. Development. Washington Post, November 1, A1.Google Scholar
Coleman, Milton (1979b). Outsiders on Barry's Staff Run the Show for City Government in Washington. Washington Post, June 7, C1.Google Scholar
Coleman, Milton (1979c). Some Ministers Criticize Barry for His Support of Gay Rights. Washington Post, November 30, B1.Google Scholar
Eisen, Jack (1979). Barry Urges Revamping and New Name for DHR. Washington Post, November 17, C1.Google Scholar
Emirbayer, Mustafa and Mische, Ann (1998). What is Agency? American Journal of Sociology, 103(4): 962–1023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaventa, John (1995). Citizen Knowledge, Citizen Competence and Democracy Building. Good Society, 5(3): 28–35.Google Scholar
Giddens, Anthony (1979). Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure and Contradiction in Social Analysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillette, Howard Jr. (2001). Protest and Power in Washington, D.C.: The Troubled Legacy of Marion Barry. In Colburn, David R. and Adler, Jeffrey S. (Eds.), African-American Mayors: Race, Politics, and the American City, pp. 200–226. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Gilliam, Dorothy (1981). Washington Is a City in Search of Identity. Washington Post. December 5, B1.Google Scholar
Hancock, Ange-Marie (2007). When Multiplication Doesn't Equal Quick Addition: Examining Intersectionality as a Research Paradigm. Perspectives on Politics, 5(1): 63–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckscher, August (1978). When LaGuardia Was Mayor: New York's Legendary Years. With Robinson, Phyllis. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Hollander, E. P. (1958). Conformity, Status, and Idiosyncrasy Credit. Psychological Review, 65(2): 117–127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isikoff, Michael and Pianin, Eric (1981). Mayor Announces City Will Hire 200 Officers. Washington Post, November 19, B1.Google Scholar
Jaffe, Harry S. and Sherwood, Tom (1994). Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Kurtz, Howie and Isikoff, Michael (1981). Congress Still Rules the Roost in District. Washington Post, October 25, A1.Google Scholar
Lemann, Nicholas (1979). Marion Barry; The Question Is: Will He Deliver? Washington Post Magazine, December 16, p. 16.Google Scholar
Leonnig, Carol D. (2007). Prosecutors Appeal Barry Decision; Probation Revocation, Jail Time Sought for Missed Deadlines. Washington Post, March 23, B3.Google Scholar
McGovern, Stephen J. (1998). The Politics of Downtown Development: Dynamic Political Cultures in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.Google Scholar
Mintz, John (1986). Development Questions Return to Haunt Barry. Washington Post, July 24, DC1.Google Scholar
Morial, Ernest N. and Barry, Marion (1986). Rebuilding America's Cities. Ed. Meyers, Edward M.. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.Google Scholar
Phelan, Shane (1989). Identity Politics: Lesbian Feminism and the Limits of Community. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Pianin, Eric and Engel, Margaret (1984). Barry Move on Bond Bid Shows Clout of City Gays. Washington Post, October 18, C1.Google Scholar
Pichirallo, Joe (1984). Labor Groups Blast Barry for Letting Coors Sponsor Reception. Washington Post, October 2, C1.Google Scholar
Pyatt, Rudolph A. Jr. (1984). D.C. Passes Legislation to Assist Small and Minority Businesses. Washington Post, May 14, Washington Business, 3.Google Scholar
Rich, Wilbur C. (2007). David Dinkins and New York City Politics: Race, Images, and the Media. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, Fred (1997). The Future Once Happened Here: New York, D.C., L.A., and the Fate of America's Big Cities. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Stone, Clarence N. (1989a). Paradigms, Power, and Urban Leadership. In Jones D., Bryan (Ed.), Leadership and Politics: New Perspectives in Political Science, pp. 135–159. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Stone, Clarence N. (1989b). Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Stone, Clarence N. (1997). Urban Regime Analysis: Theory, Service Provision, and Cross National Considerations. Paper prepared for the Joint Sessions of the European Consortium for Political Research, Bern, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Thomas, Matthew Owen (2000). Institutionalizing Reform: The Policy of Community Policing. PhD Dissertation, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland College Park.Google Scholar
U.S. Congress (1995). House. Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. Prepared Statement of Marion Barry, Jr., Mary of the District of Columbus: Oversight Hearing on DC Finances. 104 Cong., 1st sess. February 22.Google Scholar
Watts, Jerry G. (2005). What Use Are Black Mayors? An Open Letter to the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. Black Commentator, no. 159 (November 17). ⟨http://www.blackcommentator.com/159/159_cover_black_mayors.html⟩ (accessed July 9, 2008).Google Scholar
Williams, Juan (1982). City Plan: Still a Distant Goal. Washington Post, March 31, DC1.Google Scholar