ABOUT THIS BOOK

REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION

Reveals the multiple independent political tactics and strategies that African Americans have used to expand democracy and uphold civil and political rights since the founding of the nation.

This new edition of Ali’s groundbreaking narrative includes an epilogue by independent political analyst and leader Jacqueline Salit. New material addresses the historic presidencies of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump, as well as the rising tide of independent and anti-party sentiments.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Omar H. Ali is dean of Lloyd International Honors College and professor of global and comparative African diaspora history at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and was named the Carnegie Foundation North Carolina professor of the year.

REVIEWS

“In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States by Dr. Omar Ali is as relevant today as is the long struggle to dismantle systemic racism in America. The book is about Black people’s resistance to barriers to full democracy and inclusion and the variety of tactics inside and outside of the major parties that were used to pursue voting rights, racial justice, and equality. Reading this book is a lesson and an inspiration to continue forward the building of the independent multiracial democracy movement of today.”—Dr. Jessie Fields, Harlem physician and board member at Independent Voting and Open Primaries

“Ali’s profound scholarship has finally given the disciplines of political science, history, sociology, and African American studies a holistic political portrait. It is a landmark work.”—National Political Science Review

“Impressively informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking … provides invaluable insights into the current political divisions of American politics on a national level with profound implications for the near term and long term political clima

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1: Declarations of Independence

2: Abolitionism, the Liberty Party, and Free Soil

3: Republicans, Reconstruction, and Fusion

4: Black Populism and the “Negro Party”

5: Black Communists, Socialists, and Nationalists

6: Civil Rights, Black Power, and Independent Politics

7: The Black and Independent Alliance in 2008

Afterword

Acknowledgments

Appendix: Recent Articles

Timeline

Notes

Bibliography

Index