Conceptualizing Black Political Disillusionment

This article explores the impact of increased political disillusion on support for a Black regime within a city shaped by Black empowerment. Building on findings from previous research on the 2010 mayoral election in New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA), we examine how the intersection of race and economic stratification influences political disillusion in a Black community. W.E.B. Du Bois’s double consciousness guides our examination of the Black political sphere relative to the election of Mayor Mitch Landrieu in 2010. We conduct a quantitative content analysis to illuminate the communicative elements resulting from Black empowerment and the political incorporation of Black residents of New Orleans in relation to political disillusion. All participants (n=22) in this sample are Black New Orleanians who were eligible to vote in the 2010 New Orleans mayoral election. Our findings convey a Black electorate both disillusioned by post-Katrina economic and political developments and yet pragmatic about the possibilities for greater success with a white mayor. Also, the findings suggest that government disillusion influences why Black voters are willing to elect a white mayor. Lastly, we assert that participants, while being seen as outsiders to their community, develop a second-sight. This second-sight is generated by intra-racial political considerations that take on cultural, as well as political, form.