In the Balance of Power — 2008

Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States

Foreword by Eric Foner

“This is an impressive and important study. In the Balance of Power will stimulate and motivate others to think in innovative and interesting ways about the role and functions of African Americans in third-party movements as well as their attempts to break free of the partisanship that rarely delivers on their social and economic needs in America. This work will be essential reading for those political activists who are searching for ways to reform and remake the American party system.”

Hanes Walton, Jr., — Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

“Omar Ali has a keen eye for the small political events that bring big social changes. He knows that outsider movements make history. And his understanding of the fragility inherent in progressive change coalitions is on point for today's upended political world. If you're an independent, or interested in the alchemy of new political paradigms, or both, In the Balance of Power is a great read.”

Jacqueline Salit — executive editor, The Neo-Independent

“One of the many virtues of Omar Ali’s account lies in highlighting the variety of political structures and strategies blacks have chosen over the course of American history in pursuing the goal of racial justice. Independent politics is not the only approach, but it has a long history, which as Ali shows, has at many points energized the black community and helped to make America a better place for all its people.”

Eric Foner — DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia University

Historically, most black voters in the United States have aligned themselves with one of the two major parties: the Republican Party from the time of the Civil War to the New Deal and, since the New Deal—and especially since the height of the modern civil rights movement—the Democratic Party. However, as … In the Balance of Power convincingly demonstrates, African Americans have long been part of independent political movements and have used third parties to advance some of the most important changes in the United States, notably the abolition of slavery, the extension of voting rights, and the enforcement of civil rights.

Since the early nineteenth century, there has been an undercurrent of political independence among African Americans. They helped develop the Liberty Party in the 1840s and have continued to work with third parties to challenge the policies of the two major parties. But despite the legal gains of the modern civil rights movement, elements of Jim Crow remain deeply embedded in our electoral process.

In the Balance of Power presents a history and analysis of African American third-party movements that can help us better understand the growing diversity among black voters today.

Omar H. Ali is on the faculty of the Program in African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University. He has served as an assistant professor of history at Towson University and as an editor for Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society. A Fulbright Scholar, he has received research grants from Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He is an honors graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science and received his PhD from Columbia University.