Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political
Thought. By Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell. Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2004. 336p. $35.00.
The central claims of this book are that the conversations ordinary
black folk have with each other matter politically, and that there is a
diverse range of ideological perspectives endorsed by African
Americans. The author, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, supports these
contentions by means of survey research, experimental studies, and
ethnographic research. This comprehensive approach represents a
significant accomplishment and, in combination with the theoretical
contributions of the text, makes the book an invaluable addition to the
African American politics canon.