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Several scholars have studied the role of voluntary organizations in shaping the political and civic participation of citizens. Absent from this literature, however, is a critical examination of the organizations of upper-class black Americans. This project employs original data and a national data set (NBES, 1996) in order to investigate how (and if) elite black social organizations affect the political participation of their members. The study focuses on two organizational case studies: Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé) and Links, Inc. After an investigation that includes both quantitative and qualitative methods, this thesis finds that elite black social organizations have differing and significant effects on the participation of their members in electoral and non-electoral modes of political participation; further, these effects are often greater than those of the church, mainstream organizations and black advancement organizations. The results have implications for the study of black politics, the black middle class, social capital theory, and the mechanisms involved in the formation of participatory political behavior.
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1
FAULTLESS PROPHETS? PROTEST, POLITICS AND THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS OF THE BLACK ELITE
A thesis presented
by
Matthew K. Clair
Presented to the
Department of Government
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree with honors
of Bachelor of Arts
Harvard College
March 2009
2
ABSTRACT
Several scholars have studied the role of voluntary organizations in
shaping the political and civic participation of citizens. Absent from this
literature, however, is a critical examination of the organizations of upper-class
black Americans. This project employs original data and a national data set
(NBES, 1996) in order to investigate how (and if) elite black social organizations
affect the political participation of their members. The study focuses on two
organizational case studies: Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé) and Links, Inc. After an
investigation that includes both quantitative and qualitative methods, this thesis
finds that elite black social organizations have differing and significant effects on
the participation of their members in electoral and non-electoral modes of
political participation; further, these effects are often greater than those of the
church, mainstream organizations and black advancement organizations. The
results have implications for the study of black politics, the black middle class,
social capital theory, and the mechanisms involved in the formation of
participatory political behavior.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4
The Continued Significance of Black Social Organizations 8
CHAPTER 2: BOULÉ AND LINKS: OVERLOOKED IN THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
DIALOGUE Preeminent Organizations: Boulé and Links 16
What is Middle Class?: Defining the High-SES Black Community 23
Voluntary Organizations, Black Politics and Political Participation 27
CHAPTER 3: A NEW APPROACH TO PARTICIPATION AND ELITE BLACK SOCIAL
ORGANIZATIONS Hypotheses and Revisions to the Civic Voluntarism Model 35
Summary of Data Sources 39
Summary of Methodology 45
A Note on Causality 51
CHAPTER 4: MEMBERSHIP AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Members are Active Participators 53
OLS Regression Analysis of NBISS Data 58
OLS Regression Analysis of NBES Data 62
Conclusion 72
CHAPTER 5: DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARTICIPATION
Boulé and Links: Separate Institutions with Separate Effects 74
The Varieties of Political Participation 79
Conclusion 88
CHAPTER 6: IN THEIR OWN WORDS: THE PARTICIPATION OF ARCHONS AND LINKS
Archons and Links: Beliefs and Thoughts on Race, Status and
Membership 91
Protest and Politics: The Non-Electoral and Electoral Political
Participation of Archons and Links 97
Causal Inference: Qualitative Evidence of the CVM’s Participatory
Factors 103
Evidence of Other Causal Directions? 110
Conclusion 120
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION 123
APPENDIX A 128
APPENDIX B 132
REFERENCES 138
4
I have not written about being a Negro at such length because I expect that to be
my only subject, but only because it was the gate I had to unlock before I could
hope to write about anything else. I don’t think the Negro problem in America
can even be discussed coherently without bearing in mind its context; its context
being the history, traditions, customs, and the moral assumptions and
preoccupations of the country; in short, the general social fabric.
- James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son (1955, 5).
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
The history of blacks in the United States has been one of exclusion. From
America’s founding, blacks were excluded from full and equal participation in
government, society and the economy. This exclusion helped to create a system of
economic and social exploitation that hindered black socio-economic progress,
black inclusion in the political process and black dignity – effects that many have
argued still linger to this day (Bell 1993; Edley 1996; Feagin 2001; Frederickson
2002). Despite this history, a considerable group of black Americans, often aided
by policies like affirmative action, has been able to overcome the hurdles of the
American socio-political system to become members of the middle and upper-
middle classes. These black Americans of high-socioeconomic status (SES) often
work alongside, socialize among and go to school with white Americans. At first
glance, the narrative of social isolation that pervades much of the black American
experience does not appear to apply as readily to these blacks or to this century,
5
especially in an era when the most powerful leaders of the two political parties are
a black president and a black chairman of the RNC.
In his commentary “From Protest to Politics” (1965), Bayard Rustin, the
activist and co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), argued that
the route to full black inclusion and economic equality would be through an
electoral engagement with the political process. Acknowledging the gains of the
Civil Rights movement in breaking down explicit racial barriers, he suggested that
the rest of the struggle (for better jobs, an end to ghetto poverty, etc.) could not be
brought about through “protest politics” (what I term “non-electoral” political
participation). As he stated, “these interrelated problems, by their very nature, are
not soluble by private, voluntary efforts but require government action or politics”
(Rustin 1965). Within Rustin’s conception of politics and of the new direction
required to bring about black equality, there was little room for non-electoral
action through rallies, service, and institution-building through black
organizations. In the post-Civil Rights era, most scholars and political leaders
have hailed Rustin’s then-visionary form of black politics. Yet, despite the fact
that a black man has now succeeded to the nation’s highest office, the problems of
the inner-city, the wealth gap between blacks and whites, and continued
workplace discrimination haunt both the black community and American
democracy.
Even the black middle class is not shielded from this inequality. Despite
engaging with whites on an equal footing in the workplace, schools and spaces of
social interaction, the present black middle class still faces exclusion in a number
6
of ways. Whether it is psychological feelings of inferiority1 and group-based
competition or real experiences of individual and institutional racism (e.g. job
discrimination, workplace racism, and the racial insensitivity of neighbors and
friends), the black middle class is often more keenly aware of the continuing ways
in which full inclusion of blacks into the American social fabric may still be but a
dream (Dawson 1994; Lacy 2007; Young 2004, 114-6;).
In order to combat this exclusion, high-SES blacks have joined and
continue to join black political, voluntary and civic organizations. During the
early 1900s, social associations, mutual-aid clubs and freemason societies had
become a major part of America’s social spaces, most notably among those in the
black community (Putnam 2001; Skocpol, Liazos and Ganz 2006). These
organizations served not only as black public spaces for coping with the exclusion
of the dominant socio-economic system (Frazier 1957; Wesley 1954, 16), but also
they served as sites for resisting the system of oppression that made them
necessary in the first place. Although these organizations often took political
stands and organized rallies or campaigns to resist political exclusion, they should
be distinguished from the expressly political organizations, like the NAACP and
the National Urban League. Unlike black political organizations, these black
1 A good number of scholars have documented the mentality of the black middle class. One of the
most notable works is E. Franklin Frazier’s book Black Bourgeoisie: The Rise of a New Middle
Class in the United States (1957). This book critiques middle class blacks as individuals who
aspire to whiteness and regret their full incorporation as equals into the American socio-political
system. Of their strivings, he states: “As a consequence of their isolation, the majority of the black
bourgeoisie live in a cultural vacuum and their lives are devoted largely to fatuities” (Frazier 1957,
p. 98). In his book The Black Experience in Middle-Class America: Social Hierarchy and
Behavioral Biology (2001), Melvin D. Williams similarly notes that no amount of socio-economic
progress can remove the lack of human dignity black Americans feel in American society (3).
7
social organizations were/are primarily focused on fraternalism and social
bonding. They do not make direct demands on the political process through
congressional lobbying or trying judicial test cases (Frazier 1957; Welsey 1954).
Further, these organizations are not simply fraternities. Unlike fraternities, these
organizations were/are made up of black professionals (not students) who tend to
be middle to upper-middle class (Harris 2005; Jackson 2008; Wesley 1954).
In this thesis, I distinguish between two major types of black social
organizations: those that are (more or less) black versions of white fraternal orders
and Masonic societies and those that are indigenously-imagined elite social
organizations. This study focuses on the latter. A majority of the former
organizations have become defunct (e.g. the Grand Fountain of the United Order
of True Reformers), have been enveloped by their white counterparts, or include a
significant number of members who would not be characterized as part of the
black elite (e.g. the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows) (Grimshaw 1997;
Skocpol et al. 2006; Trotter 2004). In general, these organizations are not nearly
as influential – neither in society nor amongst elite blacks – as they once were
(Jackson 2008; Putnam 2001). The latter social organizations, however, maintain.
Established by pioneering black men and women, these organizations have no ties
to white fraternal orders, societies or other organizations. These organizations –
such as Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé), the Links, Jack and Jill of America, the Chums, the
Girl Friends and the Guardsmen – consist of individuals from the black middle
and upper classes and have chapters located in major cities throughout the United
States.
8
The Continued Significance of Black Social Organizations
Most of the literature on black social organizations is historical and
focused on fraternal orders (Skocpol et al. 2006; Skocpol 2003, 35-6; Trotter
2004). In this literature, these black fraternal organizations and associations are
analyzed for their past contributions to the black experience, not for their modern-
day contributions and continued existence. These social organizations are
noticeably absent from most contemporary debates and studies of black political
behavior and ideology (Trotter 2004). Current literature on the intersection
between the political process and black institutions tends to focus, instead, on the
black church (or, sometimes, black advancement organizations) as the site of
black political growth, ideological formation and resource/skill transfer.2 While
scholars like Michael Dawson and Melissa Harris-Lacewell mention the
importance of many types of organizations and institutions in the creation of a
“black counterpublic3” that shapes and creates black political activism, they make
little critical mention or analysis of any other institution but the church (Dawson
2 The black church has increasingly become viewed as the most important institution among black
Americans. Several scholars have studied its impact and offer it as one of the most fundamental
institutions in black social and political identity/ behavior (just to name a few: Dawson 1994;
Harris 1999; Harris-Lacewell 2004; Owens 2007) One of the few studies not relating to the black
church is Brian D. McKenzie’s (2007) article “Reconsidering the Effects of Bonding Social
Capital: A Closer Look at Black Civil Society Institutions in America.” This study, however, is
also insufficient for this analysis. McKenzie looks at the effect of participation on members in
black advancement organizations (like the NAACP) – organizations on which I do not intend to
focus. Also, this study does not look at different types of political acts and it still reverts to using
the black church as the main organization of analysis. The only other works that come close to
studying contemporary black social organizations approach the topic from a philosophical or
theoretical perspective. (e.g. Arneil 2006).
3 This term, mainly attributed to Michael Dawson, can be used to describe the black spaces of
interaction, exchange, bonding and agitation that exist in the black community as a result of
exclusion from white, dominant society (Dawson 2001).
9
1994; Harris-Lacewell 2004). Further, Dawson goes so far as to state that this
black counterpublic space no longer exists among contemporary black Americans
(Dawson 1995), suggesting that institutions like black social organizations either
no longer exist or are irrelevant to discussions of black politics.
Despite the silence of most scholars regarding the topic, elite black social
organizations still occupy a major role in the black (particularly middle and upper
class) community and (as a byproduct) presumably black politics and civic
engagement. The study of these organizations could shed light on many important
influences within the black (and mainstream) political process. First, elite black
social organizations may exert a greater influence on the lives of well-off black
Americans than does the black church. Middle class black Americans are less
religious, and when they do go to church, the church is often inter-racial.4 Second,
black social organizations, though sharply lower in number than during the 1900s,
still exist and serve as mechanisms for coping against racial social isolation in the
workplace, schools and neighborhoods (Lacy 2007). While these organizations
may be fewer, the ones that remain are increasing in membership and influence
(Gordon 2002; Harris 2005; Jarrett 1995) at a time when the black political/
advancement organizations (e.g. the NAACP) are becoming increasingly
irrelevant to the black community’s needs (Assensoh and Alex-Assensoh 2002).
4 From my own analysis of the National Black Election Study of 1996, I find that high-SES blacks
(whose definition I explain in chapters 2 and 3) appear to be more involved in black organizations
than in church. Only 31% of these blacks attend church every week, while 70% are members of
black organizations.
10
The relevance of these social organizations is real, particularly in an elite-
centered understanding of politics. Several theorists and political scientists portray
the middle and upper class black community as a bridge between less well-off
blacks and white society (Bowser 2007; Patillo 2007). Philosophically and
theoretically, black social organizations are seen as means by which the black
middle class maintains its affinity toward, understanding of and commitment to
the underprivileged black majority (Shelby 2005). This “black solidarity”
(perhaps not the best term) is arguably necessary for the agitation for equality and
justice in the American socio-political system. Further, this ethos of political
group consciousness has implications for theoretical discussions of
multiculturalism in American society. Putnam (2001) has commented on the
potentially negative impact of organizations that bond around race and class.
Although this thesis is unconcerned with testing his predictions, the results of this
analysis may help to inform the debate between those who believe the United
States should be a nation of several multicultural social entities vying for political
influence or a nation of one culture and one liberal-democratic impulse.5
More practically, black social organizations most likely operate as
networks of friendship, where upper-class blacks interact, debate and collect
political resources. While no scholarly attention has been paid to black social
5 Bhikhu Parekh is another contributor to this debate – but on the side of multiculturalism. In his
book Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory (2002), Parekh argues
that as the United States becomes more diverse, many cultural practices of immigrants and other
minority groups will come into conflict with our Anglo-Saxon legal and political system. Parekh
argues in favor of multicultural education and the maintenance of minority cultural practices
instead of the classic American ideal of assimilation.
11
organizations in particular, it is likely that these organizations operate similarly to
mainstream voluntary organizations, which have been shown to serve as political
networks of resources and civic skills (Putnam 2001; Schlozman, Verba and
Brady 1999; Verba, Schlozman and Brady 1995). The effect of these
organizations on the black elite, then, would presumably help them to serve as
“middle-men” (Patillo 2007) – individuals who advocate for “black” issues to the
white, political power structure.
These claims, however, have not been empirically tested. The impact of
elite black social organizations on their members’ political participation and
involvement is speculative and based upon studies of white (or mainstream)
membership in voluntary organizations. The assumptions involved in this
academic speculation ignore the differences between these organizations and
mainstream voluntary organizations, the disparity in political power and socio-
economic resources between blacks and whites, and the ideological differences/
political goals of the black community as opposed to those of mainstream
American society. As will be further developed in chapters 2 and 3, ordinary
models of organizational influence on political participation may not be readily
applicable to elite blacks and their social organizations.
Given the lack of literature and the evident implications, this thesis adds to
the research on black political participation and organizational membership by
exploring the impact of black social organizations on the political behavior of
their middle class black members. I approach the analysis from an individual, not
12
an organizational, perspective. In other words, my goal is to understand how
membership in these organizations affects the individual’s participation in modes
of political or civic acts; my goal is not to understand how these organizations
may or may not advocate for political causes or influence governmental action
through lobbying or petitioning. I care about the individual, as the individual is
the foundation of political action. At the end of the day, it is up to the individual
to affect change in socio-economic and socio-political structures that negatively
impact the black community, particularly those blacks who are most socially
isolated and marginalized.
From this perspective, I ask three main questions in this analysis and use
both quantitative and qualitative data to find answers. First, I ask: does
membership in elite black social organizations affect one’s level of political
participation? While most civic organizations provide civic skills, networks of
recruitment and the like (Verba et al. 1995), do organizations that are mainly
focused on social bonding and the protection of blacks from the everyday stresses
of living and working in integrated environments provide these same benefits?
The answer is unclear. Second, I ask: do Links and Boulé differ with regard to the
level and type of participation in which their members engage? The focus of these
organizations, together and separately, is different from that of mainstream
voluntary organizations. Yet, the literature on civic participation aggregates
memberships in wildly different organizations and assumes that the aggregate
effect applies for all different types of organizational associations. Further, the
literature often, though not always, aggregates several political acts into over-
13
encompassing indices that do not show how membership affects varied forms of
participation. Instead, I focus on two main types of participation: electoral (such
as working on a political campaign or voter registration drive) and non-electoral
(such as private, voluntary acts of protesting and community service). I want to
know how these black social organizations differ and, if they have an effect, what
type of participators these organizations make. Finally, I ask: what are the
institutional mechanisms that may contribute to these effects? Because my
analysis (based upon survey data) can never prove the directional flow of
causality between organizational membership and participation with certainty, it
is important to find out what kinds of mechanisms these organizations provide
that may contribute to the effects that I find. This third question is proposed with
that intent in mind. Further, this third question intends to test whether or not the
mechanisms offered by conventional models of participation apply to these elite
black social organizations.
This thesis unfolds in six major chapters. Chapter 2 describes two specific
black social organizations: Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé) and the Links, Inc. These two
organizations (with data from their respective chapters in the Nashville,
Tennessee area) serve as the case studies of this analysis. Chapter 2 will also
discuss the literature surrounding organizational influence on political
participation and civic engagement. Chapter 3 serves to frame my specific project,
explaining the theory, hypotheses and methodology employed. In chapter 4, I look
to answer the first question of this paper. Is there a relationship between political
participation and membership in these elite social organizations? Chapter 5 looks
14
at the separate effects of each organization and examines the degree to which
Boulé and Links differ in the effect they have on their members. I also explore the
specific types of participation in which members of these organizations tend to
engage, paying close attention to non-electoral forms of engagement – a crucial,
but often overlooked, element of black politics. Chapter 6, through the use of in-
depth qualitative data, serves to fill in the gaps, provide a clearer picture of the
members of these organizations, and uncover the possible directions of causality
between membership and participation. This chapter, in essence, focuses on the
third, and final, question of my analysis. I conclude with chapter 7, which will
also provide suggestions for future directions of research.
15
CHAPTER 2
BOULÉ AND LINKS: OVERLOOKED IN THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION DIALOGUE
In this study, I focus on two of the most prominent and lasting elite black
social organizations in the United States: Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé) and the Links, Inc.
(Links). Both organizations were established in the early 20th
century in order to
serve as spaces of social interaction, engagement and (to an extent) service for
middle and upper-middle class black Americans excluded from larger American
society. Of the many organizations founded during this time period, Boulé and
Links remain, growing in size and influence among the upper-class black
community.
In this chapter, I intend to paint a picture of the two organizations, their
formation, their present situation and their potential effect on the political
behavior of their members. I also intend to describe the upper-middle class black
community, which I will refer to as the “high-SES” (socio-economic status) black
community. I briefly define my measurement of “class” or “high-SES” in order to
16
clarify the exact community I intend to study. Finally, in this chapter, I will also
provide a review of the literature relating to such voluntary organizations in
political science, grounding my scholarship in a field that (despite its breadth) has
failed to undertake a rigorous analysis of elite black social organizations, their
members and their effect on political participation and engagement.
Preeminent Organizations: Boulé and Links
Boulé and Links are arguably the two most prominent elite black social
organizations. These two organizations are gendered; Boulé is for men, while
Links is for women. Both organizations are referenced often in elite black circles,
and distinguished members of the black community belong to each (Frazier 1957;
Harris 2005; Jackson 2008; Jarrett 1995). Notable individuals in Boulé have
included W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr., A. Leon Higginbotham, Julian
Bond, David Dinkins, and Arthur Ashe. In Links, distinguished women have
included Regina Jollivette Frazier, Betty Shabazz, and Gladys Gary Vaughn.
Often the husbands of women in Links are in Boulé and vice-versa.
The preeminence of these organizations is largely attributable to their
history and aura. Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé) was founded in 1904 in Philadelphia by
Henry M. Minton, a black American physician and author, and three other men.
Boulé was the first professional Greek-letter organization for blacks. Because
upper-middle class blacks like Minton were isolated from one another in
Philadelphia and excluded from the area’s white fraternal orders and associations
(as in many other cities during that period), Minton found that there was a need
17
for such an organization to “bind men together so that they know one another
better and that they may so aid one another and that they may accomplish for the
common good that which each could not achieve by his individual endeavors”
(Wesley 1954, 40). As the organization slowly incorporated new members and
established new chapters (known as boulés) in other cities, the organization’s
reputation grew as a distinguished – and even elitist – organization of extremely
high-achieving black men. While the organization has become more focused on
social action6 (through its foundation, social action program and monetary support
of black advancement organizations), its main purpose in the past (and still to this
day, most would argue) was to serve as a social and intellectual space for these
middle class men through regular meetings, upscale garden parties, Christmas
socials and Grand Boulés (bi-annual meetings of all the chapters).
The Links, Inc. was founded later than Boulé in 1946 by Margaret
Hawkins, an artist and activist, and Sarah Scott, a teacher. Both women were
married to physicians, solidifying their status as part of the black middle class of
6 While Boulé was always meant to make sure its members were exemplars of their community, as
an organization it was founded with the understanding that its primary objective would be social
cohesion among upper-class black men. In other words, service and community involvement was
supposed to be done by members individually, but not as part of the organizational context.
During the 50s, however, many archons questioned the lack of attention the organization gave to
black advancement, even though individual members led the way in desegregation of facilities and
winning legal battles (Wesley 1954, 345). It was not until the 27th
Grand Boulé in 1964 at the New
York City Waldorf-Astoria that the organization decided to become more active in the non-
electoral, as well as electoral, political processes. Percy Julian argued in his noteworthy speech
“Faultless Prophets” that the organization should be part of the Civil Rights movement and the
general struggle for black advancement. He lambasted his fellow men for sitting on the sidelines
of the struggle. From his speech and the general atmosphere of the 1960s, Boulé has emerged
more conscious of its role in black advancement, initiating a foundation and a social action
program that remain to this day. In fact, as of fiscal year 2007, the foundation had assets of $10.6
million (Boulé Foundation 2007).
18
the time (Parker 1992). Like Minton and the men of Boulé, these women were
pioneering, innovative, and excluded from many white voluntary organizations –
because of their race as well as their gender. The purpose of this new organization
for these women was reflected in its current mission statement, which states:
The Links, Incorporated is an organization primarily comprised of women of African
heritage who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the identities, culture
and economic survival of all people of African origin through cultural, educational and
civic programs. Through our partnerships we promote activism to help bring about
positive change that transcends time, race and socio-economic differences (Links 2009a).
Unlike Boulé, service and commitment to black advancement is an important
feature of Links. The women engage in service through institutional programs like
their International Trends and Services, which has the purpose of finding ways to
improve the living conditions of individuals throughout the world. Although
service is integral to the philosophy of the organization, as further evidenced by
the Links Foundation, the requirement of members to complete service hours and
the millions of dollars the organization has donated to the NAACP (Ebony 1996),
the organization is not a black advancement organization. The organization does
not take political stands, does not lobby, is exclusive in its membership and values
the social interaction and sororal relationship among its members. In fact, 100%
of Links respondents interviewed for this study7 described the main purpose of
Links to be partially, if not fully, social and sororal.
Presently, these organizations have maintained their prominence, unlike
other fraternal black organizations founded in the early 1900s (Grimshaw 1997;
7 As described in chapter 3, I interviewed several members of both Boulé and Links in addition to
the survey I distributed. All the links who took part in the in-depth interviews expressed that Links
is about sisterhood, social bonding and service.
19
FIGURE 2.1
Figure 2.1: This photograph was taken during the establishment ceremony of the Epsilon Boulé in
1911. This chapter of Sigma Pi Phi was the “fifth fraternal unit.” The first members of this boulé
included Carter G. Woodson and Roscoe Conkling Bruce – both of whom are pictured above.
FIGURE 2.2
Figure 2.2: This photograph, taken on February 12, 1950, captures the first executive council
meeting of the Links, Inc. The meeting took place in the Hotel Theresa in New York City and
included women from the nearly two dozen chapters established by that time.
20
Trotter 2004; Wesley 1954). As of 2002, Boulé had around 100 chapters located
in large cities in 25 states throughout the US – from Tucson, Arizona to
Shreveport, Louisiana (Jarrett 1995; Olechowski 2002). The organization’s
members (who are referred to as “archons”) are well-off black men who have
attained some level of professional success, whether in academia, medicine, law,
business or government. No undergraduate or graduate students are members of
the organization. Links is similar to Boulé in its requirement that its members
(referred to as “links”) should be adults who are no longer undergraduate or
graduate students. Although a not insignificant number of women in Links are
homemakers, most women (especially now) are professionals in their own right.
As of 2009, Links “ha[d] a membership of 12,000 professional women of color in
270 chapters located in 42 states” (Links 2009).
Both organizations are exclusive, which provides this thesis with two ideal
organizations with which to study the effects of social bonding in an exclusively
elite, black social network. In both organizations, individuals become eligible for
membership by invitation to join; one cannot request membership. Further, the
organizations tend to be timid in expanding their membership, though in recent
years each has become more open and willing to take younger members (Jarrett
1995; Parker 1992). The exclusivity of these organizations creates black social
spaces sealed off both from white opinion/ influence and also the opinion/
influence of the majority of blacks. The position of these organizations allows an
effective study of the influence of elite black social networks on forms of political
participation; and, this exclusion brings a couple questions to the fore. When elite
21
blacks are separated from other blacks and whites, are they attentive to the larger
black community’s needs or are they more focused on their own social position
and status? And more pertinent to this study, what type of participation and civic
engagement, if any, could such exclusive, social organizations foster in their
membership?
The literature provides few answers to these questions; moreover, the
answers that are provided are based upon theory and assumption, not empirical
research. Political scientists like Robert Putnam (2001) argue that by reifying
social inequalities and flaming intolerance, such organizations could be harmful
both to their members’ engagement and also to the nation’s democracy. He also
argues that only bridging networks (those that are less exclusive) link individuals
to “external assets” and “information diffusion.” Putnam, though, does note the
potential benefits of bonding groups like Boulé and Links, stating: “bonding
social capital is good for undergirding specific reciprocity and mobilizing
solidarity. Dense networks in ethnic enclaves, for example, provide crucial social
and psychological support for less fortunate members of the community” (Putnam
2001, 22).8 In the sociological literature, scholars have exacted more direct
8 Brian McKenzie (2007) finds that, in fact, Putnam was wrong with regard to bonding groups not
being able to provide their members with “external assets” and “information diffusion.” He finds
that those who are members of black advancement organizations are more likely to be members of
mainstream civic and voluntary organizations. In other words, those who are in bonding
organizations have even better access to external resources than those who are not. This study
expands McKenzie’s findings by looking to other forms of participation, particularly non-electoral
forms like community service, participation in rallies and campaigns, and the influencing of
politicians from the fringes of the electoral process. Further, this study’s findings would serve to
add to or reject McKenzie’s findings as these two elite social organizations (Boulé and Links) are
even more bonding than general black advancement organizations (which only bond along racial,
not class, lines).
22
criticisms of these elite black organizations. E. Franklin Frazier in Black
Bourgeoisie (1957) argues that instead of aiding in black advancement and
incorporation into the political process, these organizations only serve to uphold
the system of white supremacy through “snobbishness” and maintenance of a
bourgeoisie economic system (Frazier 1957, 81-6). Even members of these
organizations critique these groups for their supposed frivolity and lack of civic
engagement. Percy Julian, in a speech entitled “Faultless Prophets” (1964), lashed
out at fellow archons for “sitting on our inherited stools of intellectual eminence
and merely watching the streams [protest of the Civil Rights movement] go by”
(Harris 2005, 120). A majority of respondents to this study (particularly the
archons) also noted their belief that their fellow links/ archons were rather
inactive. Are these assumptions regarding organizational membership and
participation true? Are these members truly “faultless prophets” (a term used
satirically by Julian) basking in their eminence, unconcerned with black political
engagement? As part of this thesis, I will parse these theoretical assumptions and
help to resolve several debates over the impact of elite social organizations on the
black middle class and the larger black community.
In this investigation, I focus on two specific chapters of Boulé and Links.
Both chapters are located in the Nashville, Tennessee area and were selected
because of accessibility9 and representativeness.
10 The Sigma Pi Phi chapter is
9 Being from Nashville, I was able to gain access to the membership lists and contact information
of the members of Chi Boulé and the Hendersonville-area (located in Nashville) chapter of Links.
I do not have this access with both a Boulé and a Links chapter from any other city.
23
called Chi Boulé, and the Nashville chapter of Links that I focused on is called the
Hendersonville-area Chapter of Links, Inc. Chi Boulé has 38 members, its yearly
dues are nearly $1000, archons have meetings 9 times a year, and the chapter
holds several annual social engagements. The Hendersonville-area chapter of
Links has 59 members (including a few “alumnae”), its yearly dues are roughly
equivalent to Boulé’s, it has 9 general meetings each year, and members meet
regularly in smaller meetings called “facets” to discuss issues relating to the
foundation and other initiatives. As mentioned earlier, these two chapters are
quite representative of the national ethos of each organization. Each chapter’s
demographic make-up and ideological aim mirrors the national trends of the
respective organizations. Given this consistency, I proceed under the assumption
that any influence felt by members of these chapters is an influence that should be
taken to be indicative of membership in all chapters of these organizations.
What is Middle Class?: Defining the High-SES Black Community
10
The membership of Chi Boulé consists of a variety of men of different professions and a small
number of men who are younger than the average age of an archon. This trend is mirrored
throughout the U.S. with regard to membership in Boulé (Jarrett 1995). This chapter also adheres
to the national guidelines, is active, and has members who attend the Grand Boulé each year.
Finally, studies of the Sigma Pi Phi in the 1960s found that “there are more graduates of Fisk and
Meharry [two black universities in Nashville] who are members of Sigma Pi Phi than there are of
any other single college or university” (Jarrett 1995). (In general, Nashville has a large
concentration of HBCUs, including Fisk, TSU, American Baptist College and Meharry.) From
these facts, it is reasonable to say that this chapter is representative. For Links, the Hendersonville-
area chapter also consists of women of a variety of professions, including homemakers. This
mirrors the national membership (Parker 1992). Further, the Hendersonville-area is very active in
the national foundation and other service projects. In fact, the Hendersonville-area chapter
initiated a micro-loan program that could be adopted by other Links chapters. Therefore, this
chapter is not only representative, but it is also one of the chapters to look at to see where the
future of the organization may be headed.
24
Up to this point, I have referred to the demographic group on which I
focus as “middle class,” “upper-class” and “high-SES.” These terms are
admittedly imprecise and serve mainly to enable the reader to have a general
understanding of which demographic group makes up these elite social
organizations. While there are several ways to classify who is and who is not part
of the black middle class,11
I choose to focus on education and household income
as two variables that are definitive of what I mean to be the black middle class or
the high-SES black community. In this study, the theoretical underpinnings of
“class” and “status” are unimportant. What matters most is the access that these
individual members have on account of their income and education. The income
and education of these individuals, regardless of their actual control over the
“means of production” or the value of their net worth, defines them by others as
well-off individuals, grants them access to other elites and professional co-
11
There are several debates over what constitutes the middle class, what constitutes the black
middle class, and the concept of “class” in general. The major, traditional division in thinking
about class status is between Marx and Weber. Marx’s conception of class revolves around control
over the “means of production.” The middle and upper-classes consist of those who control the
means of production and thus the commodification of labor. Several scholars have noted that
under this conception of class, few if any blacks are part of the middle class because of the
American socio-economic system, which includes embedded institutions of racial stratification.
Although blacks have attained middle class income and education, they do not own, these scholars
argue, the major economic institutions that are the bases of our economy (Bowser 2007; Oliver
and Shapiro 2006; Williams 2000). A Weberian conception of class, on the other hand, is much
looser and involves more descriptive ideas of class, such as wealth, status and cultural mores
(Bowser 2007; Lacy 2007). Such a conception of class is based more upon how individuals
perceive themselves and behave in relation to others. The important take-away is that there is no
general consensus on what exactly defines class or middle class or black middle class; often, it is
historically contingent and based upon evolving standards and relative measures. What is most
important to this study is not if my definition fits within either a Marxian or Weberian framework;
rather what is important is what the individuals I define as middle class/ well-off have or are able
to accrue as compared to those who are part of the lower-class.
25
workers and, presumably, gives them a baseline level of substantial political
knowledge (Schlozman, Page, Verba and Fiorina 2005; Skocpol 2004).
For household income, I look to the top two quintiles of income,
considered by many to contain the upper-middle class and the truly wealthy.
Because the main data set12
I use in this study was collected in the summer of
2008, the questions regarding household income refer to income from the year
2007. As such, I base my quintiles upon 2007 data from the Tax Policy Center. In
2007, individuals with household incomes of $62,000-$100,000 USD 2007 are in
the 4th
quintile. Those with household incomes above $100,000 USD 2007 are in
the 5th
quintile. The top 5% of Americans made above $177,000 USD 2007. All
of the individuals in Links and Boulé are well within the upper-middle class from
a purely income-based perspective. 97% of archons had a household income
greater than $100,000 USD 2007, while over 70% of links did.
Regarding education, I measure education as having attained at least an
associates or bachelors degree in order to be considered a part of the high-SES
black community. This criterion is based upon a general academic consensus that
this is the appropriate cut-off as a determinant of high socioeconomic status. The
knowledge, skills and networks accrued in an institution of higher learning are
drastically different than those accumulated in high school. The majority of
members of Links and Boulé have attained a level of education higher than a
college degree. 74% of links and 82% of archons have an advanced degree.
12
The data set, which I title the Nashville Black Ideology and Social Survey (NBISS) is an
original data set that I collected in the summer of 2008. I will discuss this data set further in
chapter 3.
26
The members of these elite social organizations are part of a larger black
middle/upper-class that has grown markedly in the United States from the 1970s
as a result of affirmative action, decreased overt racism, and increased educational
opportunities. In the early 20th
century, when Boulé and Links were founded, the
black elite was extremely small and consisted mainly of domestic help and a few
individuals in the trades and professions. By the middle of the 20th
century, the
class grew, aided by the demand for black doctors, lawyers and insurance agents
to fill the void left by white refusal to service blacks in these professions (Landry
1987). By the late 20th
century, the black middle class grew even more as whites
began to allow blacks to enter the mainstream economic system. From 1969 to
1986, the percentage of black families considered “upper-class” (defined in terms
of income and status) tripled from 3% to 9%. The absolute number increased from
143,000 families to 624,000 families (Billingsley 1990). Data from the U.S.
Census Bureau shows that in 2006 9.1% of blacks made more than $100,000 USD
2006. After accounting for inflation, only 1.7% of blacks made above $100,000
USD 2006 in 1975. While this group of blacks is increasing and has made
significant gains, the disparity between whites and blacks is stark. More than 20%
of whites had a household income over $100,000 in 2006, but the numbers are
much lower for blacks. Since the 70s, the wealthiest group of blacks has
consistently made a household income that is on average just 70% of that of the
wealthiest group of whites (Bowser 2007, 118). In other words, while blacks have
27
made significant gains, what it means to be in the black upper-class is still
different than what it means to be in the white upper-class.13
Voluntary Organizations, Black Politics and Political Participation
Civic associations and their influence on participation have been studied in
American politics at least since Alexis de Tocqueville’s oft-referenced analyses of
American culture and politics in the middle of the 19th
century. de Tocqueville
saw the American use of civic associations and voluntary collectivity as unique
features of the American political process. These groups, he observed, decreased
dependency on the government for certain services, served to energize citizens for
collective action, and functioned as the basis for robust civic participation by
ordinary citizens (de Tocqueville 2004; Ostrom and Ahn 2003; Putnam 2001;
Verba et al. 1995).
Despite the uniqueness of these associations to American culture and
politics, most voluntary associations were not open to blacks until the post-Civil
Rights era. Before then, black participation in the political process tended to be
one strictly of non-electoral influence (like marches and protests for black
advancement) instead of electoral influence (like campaign volunteering and
voting) (Harris, McKenzie and Sinclair-Chapman 2008; Tate 1994; Walton 1994).
This external influence was aided not only by political and black advancement
organizations, but also by fraternal societies and social organizations similar to
Boulé and Links (Skocpol et al. 2006). As a result of the Civil Rights movement,
13
When disparities in wealth (net worth and net financial assets) are taken into account, the
contrast between blacks and whites is even greater. See Oliver and Shapiro (2006) for a discussion
of this gap.
28
many scholars have argued that black organizations – and black political
influence more generally – have shifted toward electoral political influence
(Harris et al. 2008; Tate 1994; Verba et al. 1995). But, the analysis of these
authors has mainly been based upon assumptions, has not looked to specific black
social organizations, has not analyzed the black middle class and has not looked
to different forms of political participation to conduct a rigorous analysis of this
notion.
Most analyses of black political participation do not take into account
middle class blacks’ behavior or their involvement in black civic/social
organizations. The most influential institution in studies of black behavior (and
black political attitudes) is the black church. Numerous researchers have looked to
the black church as the basic unit for analyzing black politics (Dawson 1994;
Harris 1999; Harris 1994; Harris-Lacewell 2004; Owens 2007; Tate 1994).
Arguably, the black church may be the most influential actor in affording political
resources, skills and knowledge to its members. However, when studying the
politics of high-SES blacks, this reliance on the church may be insufficient as
these blacks are increasingly attending mixed-race churches in their suburban
neighborhoods, joining other forms of religion or not attending church altogether
(Harris 1999; Washington 1974). Further, the black community may be
witnessing the decreasing influence of the church in the post-Civil Rights era as
compared to other organizations among elite blacks. In my own analysis through
the NBISS, only one of eleven respondents mentioned the role of the church
without prompting. Most often, these respondents instead spoke freely of the
29
black organizations and mainstream civic organizations in which they were
involved.
Further, these studies of black participation are rare in and of themselves;
most black political studies center on the political ideology of blacks, rather than
the extent to which blacks participate. These ideological studies of black politics
tend to analyze the attitudes of blacks, especially as compared to similarly-
situated whites. Michael Dawson (1994) looks at the “black utility heuristic14
”
and argues that blacks maintain ideas of linked fate and racial solidarity, even as
they become more well-off and better-educated. He attributes this heuristic to
several mechanisms, including black organizational affiliations. Other scholars
(Bledsoe, Welch, Sigleman and Combs 1995; Gay 2004) have looked to the
impact of residential context on beliefs and attitudes within the black community.
And with regard to the black church, the ideology of blacks, as a result of
membership and active participation, tends to be analyzed to a much greater
extent than their resultant political behavior. While this research is important and
could even serve as a basis for understanding the mechanisms involved in the
behaviors of blacks in the political process, it does not show how blacks
participate. The study of why blacks vote or do not vote, rally or participate in
political campaigns, etc. is much harder to come across in the study of black
politics.
14
The “black utility heuristic” is a term that Dawson (1994) uses in his book Behind the Mule:
Race and Class in African-American Politics. Dawson argues that the heuristic explains the
finding that perceptions of racial group interests often supersede conceptions of class interests
among high-SES blacks. In other words, he finds that many of these blacks maintain ideological
(and perhaps, emotional) connections to other blacks who are not of their same class.
30
Recently, this trend has been changing as it has become clearer that
research involving mainstream participation may not capture the differences in
black engagement. Harris et al. (2008) study changing trends in black
participation since the 1970s. They find that black participation is highly
dependent upon institutions and economic downturns. Owens (2007), in his book
God and Government in the Ghetto, finds that black participation can be
influenced by the black clergy’s connections to and relationships with government
agencies. However, both of these studies are structural in their methodology –
focusing on the institutions instead of the individual, as he/ she relates to the
institution. As noted in the introduction, this study aims to look at the individual
(embedded within the organizational context) as the main unit of analysis. I am
more interested in the influence of these organizations on their members’
behavior and political engagement.
Brian D. McKenzie (2007), whose work is commented upon earlier, takes
an individual-level approach to participation and analyzes the impact of black
advancement organizations and the church on the electoral political participation
(voting, participation in non-racial civic organizations, etc.) of members. He finds
that membership does in fact correlate with higher levels of participation;
however, his study does not look at elite black social organizations or the
relationship between membership and non-electoral forms of participation (rallies,
community development, etc.). Arguably one of the most rigorous studies of
black participation and organizational membership is Katherine Tate’s book From
Protest to Politics: The New Black Voters in American Elections (1994). Tate
31
uses data from the National Black Election Study of 1984 and finds that being a
member of any of several black advancement organizations has a significant
impact on campaign activity, but not voting. While Tate’s work sheds light on
organizational effects, it lacks a discussion of elite black social organizations.
Tate’s work, like McKenzie’s, also does not look at the relationship between
membership and non-electoral forms of participation. In fact, her work only
studies the correlation between membership and the two acts of voting and
campaign activity (Tate 1994, 82).
The literature on mainstream voluntary organizations, authored mainly by
scholars like Kay Lehman Schlozman, Theda Skocpol and Sidney Verba, is also
relevant to this investigation. Compared to the work of McKenzie and Tate, this
literature provides more depth in some areas, but less depth in others. Sidney
Verba, Kay Schlozman, and Henry Brady’s work Voice and Equality: Civic
Voluntarism in American Politics (1995) studies the effects of voluntary
organizations on individual political behavior. Through their research, Verba et al.
uncover that an individual’s organizational membership, after controlling for
several demographic and associational factors, has the effect of increasing
involvement in several political activities, such as voting, campaign contribution
and contacting an elected official. They find that “non-political voluntary
associations play an even larger role than job or religious institutions. The effect
of such associations is almost equal to the combined effect of job and religion –
underlining their central role in American democracy” (Verba et al. 1995, 452).
32
From their research, Verba et al. develop the Civic Voluntarism Model
(CVM).15
This model is based upon the work of many scholars, as wide-ranging
as Pierre Bourdieu (Field 2003) and James S. Coleman (Coleman 1994). The
CVM is also related to the work of Robert Putnam (1995; 2001), who argues that
social capital and networks are garnered through participation in organizations.
For Putnam, social capital increases the trust and reciprocity among individuals in
these organizations, increasing their engagement in their communities and
participation in their democracy, among other benefits. Putnam’s work, though,
focuses mainly on the organization, not the individual, as the main unit of
analysis. For Verba et al., a quantitative approach that focuses on individuals
within institutions (rather than institutions composed of individuals) enables an
understanding of the direct effect and magnitude of organizations on citizens.
The thesis is informed by and, to an extent, seeks to build on the
theoretical and substantive results of Verba et al.’s CVM. This Civic Voluntarism
Model of political participation reveals that an individual’s amount (number of
political acts in which he/she partakes) of political participation is a result of
15
The Civic Voluntarism Model focuses on three main variables that Verba et al. suggest
determine the amount of political participation in which a person engages. These variables are:
initial characteristics (social class, race/ethnicity, gender and parents’ education), pre-adult
experiences (education, politics at home, and high school activity), institutional involvement (job
level, non-political organizations, and religious attendance), and “participatory factors” (family
income, civic skills, civic vocabulary, political recruitment, political interest and political
information). Using OLS regressions, the authors find that the participatory factors of political
involvement are directly affected by membership in voluntary organizations. Voluntary
organizations enable individuals to network, allowing them to develop close friendships through
which political interaction comes about. The direct effect of these organizations on political
participatory factors suggests that there is a strong, indirect effect from these organizations on
political behavior.
33
several life processes and institutional factors that accumulate over one’s lifespan.
Verba et al.’s research and use of the Civic Voluntarism Model suggest that
institutional involvement does in fact have an effect on political participation,
even after controlling for other independent variables that accrue over one’s life-
span. The authors argue that the accrual of civic skills, resources and recruitment
mechanisms explain the means by which organizational membership increases
political participation.
While Verba et al.’s research, along with that of others, is a thorough
analysis of the influence of non-political associations on political participation,
the examination is unable to fully account for the political behavior of elite
blacks. First, the effect of non-political organizations on high-SES blacks is
probably different than the effect of these organizations on the general American
population (or the general black population, for that matter). High-SES black
political interests, methods of participation and networks of recruitment/resources,
shaped by exclusion and heightened racial awareness, are different from those of
similarly-situated whites and other minorities (Bowser 2007, 144; Dawson 1994;
Lacy 2007; Tate 1994; Walton 1994). Further, high-SES blacks have different
incentives (from their higher income and education) and organizational
affiliations (like elite black social organizations) than blacks as a whole (Dawson
1994; Frazier 1957; Tate 1994). Second, and perhaps most importantly, the
definition that Verba et al. use to define non-political organizations (or social
34
organizations) is far too broad16
for what this study attempts to analyze. Similarly,
the measurement used by Katherine Tate is also too broad, as it includes all types
of organizations that are “working to improve the status of black Americans”
(Tate 1994, 92). Third, as will be touched on in chapter 4, non-electoral forms of
political participation are not included in the aggregate analysis of participation.
This is especially true in Tate’s work. Verba et al.’s work includes some non-
electoral measures, but not others. They do not look at rallies/marches and
community social action – two very important “protest” activities for this study.
16
In their appendix, Verba et al. state that they define a non-political organization as one that
“does not take stands on public issues.” Further, they state that they “asked, in fact, about a wider
range of activities specifying many types of organizations and probing more specifically for
religious based participation” (Verba et al. 1995, 549).
35
CHAPTER 3
A NEW APPROACH TO PARTICIPATION AND ELITE BLACK SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
This chapter frames my empirical analysis. In this chapter, I explain my
exact criticisms of models of mainstream political participation as they relate to
organizations, outline the exact hypotheses I attempt to answer, describe my
methodology and data sources and, finally, conclude with a note on the limits of
causal inference.
Hypotheses and Revisions to the Civic Voluntarism Model
This study intends to understand the participatory political behavior (both
electoral and non-electoral) of high-SES blacks, with a specific focus on the role
of social organizations in forming these political behaviors. As noted above, much
evidence and research has been devoted to the study of political participation and
the role of organizations in this process. However, this analysis has been limited
in several respects.
36
In this section, I suggest a different approach to looking at participation
that focuses on specific organizations, rather than broad affiliations, and specific
political acts, rather than just an analysis of an index of several political acts.
Further, I argue that the historical and contemporary goals of the social
organizations of the black upper-class (based upon a response to exclusion in the
workplace, social circles and the larger political process) suggest that these
organizations have a different effect on the types of political participation of their
members than other types of voluntary organizations.
While several models of political participation exist, this study focuses on
the Civic Voluntarism Model (CVM) posited by Verba, Schlozman and Brady in
their work Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (1995). I
have chosen to focus on this model of participation because it is one of the most
comprehensive, providing a thorough analysis of the specific mechanisms and
factors that contribute to participation on an individual-level. The CVM accounts
for political participation through three mechanisms: (1) resources (time, money
and civic skills), (2) engagement (or an individual’s eagerness to be part of the
political process, which is derived from one’s sense of political efficacy and sense
of duty, among other like factors), and (3) recruitment (through social networks
and institutions). Through their analysis, Verba et al. uncover that membership in
non-political organizations has a statistically significant effect on all three of the
factors of political participation.17
The authors conclude that through these factors
17
See page 434 of Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (1995).
Involvement in non-political organizations has a significant (at the .01 level) effect on civic skills,
vocabulary, recruitment, political interest and political information. These participatory factors are
37
being a member of a non-political, voluntary organization has a positive effect on
the participatory behavior of an individual.
Despite the CVM’s methodological and conceptual advantages, it – like
other models and studies of organizational effects on political participation – fails
to look to the effect of specific types of voluntary organizations on their
members’ political participation. In order to test the effect that membership in
voluntary, non-political organizations has on political participation of individuals,
the CVM uses survey data that asks respondents to answer whether or not they
belong to any type of voluntary association. This question results in an
exceedingly broad measurement of what it means to be a member of a voluntary
association. A respondent who answers “yes” to such a question could be a
member of any type of organization from a religious group or fraternity to a
neighborhood club or environmental group. While their model finds that an
expression of membership in these many different types of organizations has a
positive effect on political participation, their model says little about the specific
organizations, the influence of multiple memberships, etc. From their analysis,
one cannot determine exactly which of these voluntary, non-political
organizations has a greater effect on participation. And more interestingly, this
lack of specificity hampers an effective understanding of whether or not different
embedded within one or more the three main factors of the CVM. From this analysis, it is evident
that being a member of a mainstream non-political organization (measured quite broadly)
increases one’s civic skills, civic vocabulary, chance of being recruited through social networks to
participate, interest in the political process and information about politics (including political
efficacy).
38
organizations have different types of effects on participation through different
mechanisms.
In this study, I proceed to test the general applicability of the main
findings of the CVM to elite black social organizations, their members and their
members’ politics. Ever aware of the differences between black politics and
mainstream politics and between the black middle class and the white middle
class, I also proceed to expand the CVM by analyzing non-electoral forms of
political engagement.
Given the CVM and the social capital literature on the connection between
institutional/organizational membership and political participation, I first
hypothesize that membership in an elite black social organization will increase an
individual’s political participation18
(H1).
Second, because of the slightly differing aims, goals and network
opportunities of Boulé and Links, I hypothesize that membership in Boulé will
differ from membership in Links with regard to each organization’s effect on its
members’ political participation (as defined in H1). Specifically, I hypothesize
that members of Links will be more politically active than archons (H2). The
more active, service-oriented nature of Links leads me to this hypothesis. If there
is any significant difference between these organizations (even if not in the way I
hypothesize), this hypothesis would question the aggregate way in which most
studies of civic engagement measure membership. Membership in one
18
Participation, here, is defined as an aggregated index of several traditionally researched political
acts. The index is explained in further detain the methodology section of this chapter.
39
organization could be exceedingly different than membership in the other, even if
the organizations are quite similar.
The final hypothesis derives from the literature on black political studies,
the black utility heuristic and the historical purposes of black institutions. The
uniqueness of these organizations, as described in the preceding chapters, leads
me to hypothesize that membership in an elite black social organization will have
a greater, positive effect on an individual’s non-electoral forms of participation
(like rallies/marches, community service and membership in black advancement
organizations) than on his/her electoral forms of participation (like donating to a
campaign, working on a campaign and organizing a voter registration drive)
(H3).
Summary of Data Sources
In order to test my hypotheses, I employ the use of two survey data sets
and 11 in-depth qualitative interviews. One data set is an original data set I
collected over the period of two months (July-August 2008). The data set, which I
term the Nashville Black Ideology and Social Survey (NBISS), is derived from a
standardized survey of members of Boulé and Links. As part of this survey, I also
contacted several members of the two organizations in order to conduct in-depth
qualitative interviews. In addition to the NBISS, I also use the National Black
Election Study (NBES) (1996). I will use the NBES both to validate my own data
set’s findings and also as an independent means of testing one of my hypotheses.
40
The relevant questions and variables for the NBISS is included within Appendix
B.
The NBISS was collected over a two month period in the summer of 2008
in the Nashville, Tennessee area and included two phases. The first phase was
targeted only to residents of the Nashville area who are archons in Chi Boulé and
residents of the Nashville area who are members of the Hendersonville-area
chapter of Links. As mentioned in chapter 2, Chi Boulé has 38 members, and the
Hendersonville-area chapter of Links has 59. For Boulé, Chi Boulé is the only
chapter in the Nashville area. For Links, however, there are four chapters of the
organization in Nashville. I chose the Hendersonville-area chapter, as noted in
chapter 2, because of accessibility and representativeness. Although the chapter
was formed in the area of Hendersonville (which is just east of the Nashville city
limits), the great majority of its members live in Nashville or other suburbs;
chapter involvement is based upon general locality, not specific residence.
Further, several of the archons of Chi Boulé have spouses (called archousai) in the
Hendersonville chapter of Links.
In the first phase of the collection of NBISS data, I mailed the survey to
every member of these two organizations. The survey included demographic
questions, questions about electoral and non-electoral acts of political
participation, questions about political attitudes, and questions about race and
identity. Some of these questions were derived from previous surveys and studies;
however, most were new questions. To increase the likelihood that the individuals
surveyed would respond to the survey, I included a stamped envelope with my
41
address as both the mailing and return addresses. This method also ensured my
respondents of the anonymity of their responses, encouraging them to answer the
questions more faithfully. In total, 29/38 members of Chi Boulé and 38/59
members of Links responded. This resulted in a response rate of 76% for Boulé
and 64% for Links.
In the second phase, I altered the survey questions slightly, removing
questions specific to involvement in either Boulé or Links. I mailed this survey to
my control group, which I snowball sampled from Boulé and Links members. At
the end of the survey for archons and links, I asked them to provide the name and
address of a “black (man or woman) in Nashville who is not in any (Boulé or
Links) chapter who may agree to be surveyed for my thesis.” From this method, I
received 22 names and addresses. In response to my mailings, 9 individuals (4
men and 5 women) responded, resulting in a response rate of 41%. This group of
9 people serves as my control group. Although snowball sampling has its
methodological problems and introduces elements of bias, it also enables me to
control for several variables. Because my control group is quite similar in
demographics to my group of members in Boulé and Links, I am more readily
able to tease out the effects of membership in these social organizations (Johnson,
Joslyn and Reynolds 2001).
In order to further assure the reader of the representativeness of my control
group, I have compared my group to individuals of similar levels of income and
education found in the NBES (1996). The NBES is a full-coverage random-digit-
dial telephone survey that was conducted before and after the 1996 presidential
42
election. I focus on the sample of 1,216 respondents interviewed immediately
before the 1996 election. Thus, the responses regarding presidential vote and
other forms of electoral activity are in relation to the 1992 presidential election
and the 1994 midterm election. Focusing on the pre-election NBES sample
provides its advantages, including the hampering of a possible “Obama effect”19
that may have occurred in the NBISS data.
Upon comparison of the NBISS control group to the NBES control group,
Table 3.1, located in Appendix A, reveals that my NBISS control group is very
similar to the NBES high-SES group. To create the NBES high-SES group, I
dropped the individuals who made less than $50,000 USD 1996, who had less
than an associates degree and who were not between the ages of 40-70. Through
this method, I was able to create a group of individuals who appear
demographically similar to my NBISS control group. The NBISS control group,
19
The first advantage of the pre-election group is that it is larger than the post-election group
(which includes 854 respondents). Second, a focus on the pre-election group enables a greater
replication of my NBISS sample, as it was conducted immediately before another election – the
2008 presidential election. Third, and finally, focusing on the pre-election sample helps to control
the “Obama effect.” This effect is the theory that the viability of electing Barack Obama, the first
black president, would have energized the individuals sampled in the NBISS to participate in the
electoral political process to a greater extent than they normally do. It should be noted that this
theory would have no effect, even if true, on the regression analysis provided in later chapters –
for the effect would have applied for members and non-members alike. Even if the effect interacts
with members in a different way than it does with non-members (perhaps because of mechanisms
involved in the elite organizational context), this interaction would be attributable to the main
variable of concern: membership in an elite organization. The “Obama effect” is only problematic
in the comparison of the NBES high-SES group with the NBISS high-SES control group. The
effect could cause the NBISS group to be more active than the NBES group. Focusing on two pre-
election cycles, though, helps to eliminate some of the effect, because any presidential election
increases participation. Further, this theoretical effect would have been slow to actualize and may
not have reached its full potential by the time I conducted the NBISS survey. Finally, when using
the NBES as a comparison for my NBISS control group, I mainly focus on characteristics
(demographics and affiliations, not electoral participation) that would remain unchanged
regardless of an “Obama effect.”
43
however, is disproportionately heavy in high-income and high-education.
Although one individual in this group had a household income between $80,000-
$100,000 USD 2007, the majority (87.5%) of the individuals in the group have
household incomes above $100,000 USD 2007. The NBES high-SES group is
skewed in the opposite direction. Only about 27% make above $90,000 USD
1996, which is roughly comparable to the NBISS individuals who make over
$100,000 USD 2007, after accounting for inflation.
Because the NBISS high-SES group is much more skewed toward the
upper-end of income and education as compared to the NBES high-SES group, I
was uncertain about the validity of comparing the two groups. Nevertheless, these
two groups are strikingly similar on all of the non-demographic measures on
which I was able to compare the groups. The non-demographic measures I used to
compare the groups were: membership in a black advancement organization,
linked fate perceptions and voting behavior (Table 3.1). I chose these measures
for two reasons. First, they were worded similarly between the NBISS data set
and the NBES data set. The wording is important in order to ensure that the
questions between the data sets are measuring the same phenomenon. Second,
these questions were the most relevant to the questions this study attempts to
answer.
As Table 3.1 reveals, my NBISS control group is similar to the NBES
high-SES group, suggesting that the NBISS control group is fairly representative
despite its small size. The proportion of individuals in black advancement
organizations is nearly the same – only a minor 2% difference. Also, levels of
44
linked fate perceptions are strikingly similar. Finally, voting participation rates are
identical – both at 100%. It appears the NBISS control group is in fact
representative of higher-income black Americans. Given this finding, it is
appropriate to use this as my control group when running OLS regression analysis
to measure the relationship between membership in these two elite social
organizations and engagement in the political process.
In addition to the two survey data sets, I also draw on in-depth interviews
with a sample of 11 respondents. Because the gathering of a diverse group of
interview subjects is important for qualitative research (McCracken 1998, 34-8), I
identified potential subjects from the membership directory of each organization
by choosing individuals who would collectively represent an array of professions,
ages and levels of commitment to the organization. Of the individuals who agreed
to partake, 5 were links and 6 were archons. I conducted face-to-face interviews,
usually in their home or office. The interviews were collected using standardized
questions in order to provide each respondent with the same stimuli. If a question
was insufficiently answered, I would probe further by emphasizing a key part of
the standardized question or by asking the respondent to elaborate further. Aware
of the difficulties regarding interview processes, I dressed professionally and
remained neutral in my reactions to responses. I also provided the respondents
with appropriate forms to safeguard their personal information and ensure them of
the confidentiality of the interview.20
In that vein, I have changed the names and
20
I took several steps to ensure the validity of the respondents’ answers. While I cannot list all of
the steps, I more or less followed the recommendations provided by Fowler and Mangione (1990)
in their book Standardized Survey Interviewing: Minimizing Interviewer-Related Behavior.
45
other identifiable information that is unimportant to the qualitative study. The
questions asked of the respondents are provided in Appendix B.
Summary of Methodology
As stated, this work employs a mixed-methods approach that combines
statistical analyses of survey data (chapters 4 and 5) with qualitative evidence
from in-depth interviews (chapter 6). To interpret the qualitative evidence, I used
a simple coding methodology. I developed a system to code specific types of
responses I was looking to see. Particularly, I paid close attention to references to
(1) the institutional mechanisms theorized to be affiliated with participation from
Verba et al. (1995) and (2) any responses that suggest that participation either has
no relationship with membership or flows in the opposite causal direction that I
hypothesize. The names and other identifiable information of those interviewed
were changed or removed in order to safeguard their confidentiality. For the
quantitative data, statistical analysis involved first defining my dependent
variables of interest (traditional political participation, electoral political
participation and non-electoral political participation) and then determining my
control variables.
For the NBISS quantitative data, I define three separate dependent
variables. The first variable, traditional political participation, is an index of five
political acts. These five acts are: (1) engagement in a rally or march in the past 5
Among their recommendations, they provide that standardization is important (18-21), it is
important to be non-judgmental and employ non-directive probing (37-8), it is necessary to
maintain interpersonal neutrality (48) and it is beneficial to insist that the respondent’s answers
and ideas are both legitimate and highly important to the study (73, 79).
46
years, (2) writing a letter to a politician in the past 5 years, (3) taking part in the
organization of a voter-registration or other political drive in the past 5 years, (4)
volunteering in a political campaign in the past 5 years, and (5) donating to a
political campaign in the past 5 years. I define this index as “traditional” because
most models of participation include these elements as their basic aggregate
measure of political participation. Missing from this index is the act of voting. I
exclude voting because it would be misleading to include it. All of the 75
respondents, except for one, checked that they did vote in the 2004 presidential
election. The one respondent who did not vote was anomalous to the overall
trend, affecting the data set disproportionately because the N is so small.
The second and third dependent variables I use are measures of electoral
and non-electoral participation. The second dependent variable is an index of
electoral political participation. This index includes the political activities
measured in the NBISS that are linked to the electoral process: (1) taking part in
the organization of a voter-registration or other political drive in the past 5 years,
(2) volunteering in a political campaign in the past 5 years, and (3) donating to a
political campaign in the past 5 years. The final dependent variable is an index of
non-electoral political participation. This index21
includes the activities that are
external to the electoral process, but still influence government and civic society:
(1) engagement in a rally or march in the past 5 years, (2) writing a letter to a
politician in the past 5 years, (3) some level of engagement in community service
21
I intend this type of participation to mirror the “protest” activities to which Bayard Rustin refers.
For Rustin, protest is defined by private, non-electoral political acts, often undertaken to bring
about black advancement.
47
in the past year, and (4) membership in a black advancement organization, such as
the NAACP or the National Urban League – organizations that are political yet
outside of the electoral political process.
The main independent variable of analysis is membership in an elite black
social organization, defined as being a member of either Boulé or Links. In
chapter 5, I split up the independent variable in order to test H2 and H3, which
requires a look at the independent effects of being a member of each organization
separately. In the first analysis, in which membership is defined as membership in
both organizations, men and women are pooled and analyzed together. When I
split up the membership variable, I also separate the data by gender.
In addition to this main independent variable, I employ up to 8 control
variables, depending on the regression being run. These 8 control variables are:
gender (male), education, household income, working status (working or not),
American parents (parents born in the United States or not), black advancement
organization (member or not), non-racial organization (member or not), and
church (extent of membership). The first four control variables are the most oft-
included variables in any model of political participation. Several empirical
studies (McKenzie 2007; Verba et al. 1995; Tate 1994) have shown the
importance of including these variables in the analysis, as they often correlate
highly with both the dependent and main independent variable of analysis.
However, the other four control variables, included in the analysis in order to
control for potentially confounding (lurking or explanatory) factors, are not
employed as often in other models.
48
The other four control variables require a little more explanation than the
first four. American parents is a necessary control variable as it is a pre-adult
influence that could have a great effect on the political behavior of individuals
and on the likelihood of an individual to join a black social organization (Rogers
2001; Waters 2000). While my data only contains 3 individuals who marked that
either they or their parents were immigrants, it is important to note that such
status could have a great impact on one’s understanding of politics, willingness to
engage in the political process and interest in black organizations like Boulé and
Links. Black advancement organization is another control variable. This variable,
though not as related to membership in Boulé and Links as one may expect (see
Table 4.1), is important to include because of the highly political nature of such
organizations. Further, like other institutions, these organizations could serve to
provide the civic and political skills/interest that increase one’s likelihood of
political participation. Similar to the black advancement organization variable is
the non-racial organization variable. This variable includes any civic or social
organizations that are not focused on black issues particularly. In other words,
these are the voluntary organizations that Verba et al. (1995) and Putnam (2001)
study. Because of their noted effect on political participation from these authors
and because of their relationship with general black organizations (McKenzie
2007), this variable is quite pertinent to this analysis. The last variable, church,
measures the extent of involvement that an individual has in his/her church. For
many scholars, the church is the heart of black politics (Dawson 1994; Harris
1999; Harris 1994; Harris-Lacewell 2004; McAdam 1982; Owens 2007; Tate
49
1994). Most likely this centrality is changing for high-SES and present-day
blacks. Nevertheless, no black participatory model would be complete without
this control variable.
One obvious variable that is missing from these control variables is age.
The age of the survey respondent has also been found to be an important variable
in explaining participation (Schlozman, Page, Verba and Fiorina 2005); yet, I was
unable to include it in my analysis because of data limitations.22
The lack of this
variable may present some limitations for my data, but the lack of it is not as
detrimental as it could be for two reasons. First, the individuals who make up the
organizations of Links and Boulé are, with near-certainty, between the ages of 40-
70. While there may be a few outliers, the requirements of membership provide a
very reliable basis for this assumption. This age range, according to Schlozman et
al. (2005), is the least variable age range with regard to difference in the mean
number of political acts in which individuals engage. While from the age of 18 to
the age of 40 the mean number increases by 1.28, the difference in the mean
number from the age of 40 to the age of 70 is a mere .19 (Schlozman et al. 2005,
39). Second, I was able to include a question about age in the second phase of the
NBISS research (as stated above, this phase collected data from the control
group). The respondents in the control group are all within the 40-70 age range, so
age is held relatively constant.
22
In my creation of the NBISS, I failed to include a question regarding age in the surveys that
were sent to those who are members of Boulé and Links. For those who were of the control group,
I added in a question that asked for the age of the respondent; however, this variable cannot be
used in my analysis because there is no way of determining the age of each member respondent. I
can only determine the range of ages in which the overwhelming majority of members fall.
50
While most studies on participation include some variation of the variables
described above, the CVM takes the analysis a step further by looking at the
micro-level mechanisms that derive from these variables. Verba et al. term these
the “participatory factors.” These factors include such variables as civic skills,
political interest, political information, and political recruitment. Verba et al. find
that these factors are found in mainstream civic organizations. Because the NBISS
does not ask questions that would be able to measure these factors, it is sufficient
to use the main control variables listed earlier (as the factors theoretically derive
from these variables). If any of the variables have a positive effect on
participation, the participatory factors are, theoretically, one of the avenues
through which this relationship occurs. Still, in chapter 6, I look to qualitative
results to see if these participatory factors are in fact the mechanisms used by elite
black social organizations to bring about whatever effect that is observed.
For the NBES data, I employ similar techniques with regard to control
variables. When using the NBES data to test H1, I use the same major control
variables, such as household income and church involvement. The methodology
used for the NBES data analysis is described in further detail in chapter 4.
Finally, I should quickly state that the limitations involved in statistical
analysis have been taken into account in this study. There are several possible
threats to external validity (omitted variable bias, the use of linearity even if the
function is not linear, errors-in-variables from misunderstandings or poorly-
worded questions and, as stated above, sample selection bias). I have attempted to
51
mitigate these threats in a variety of ways, including the use of several control
variables and the comparison of my data to a national data set. Further, I
understand that the Nashville-based focus of my study also provides threats to
external validity. Nevertheless, I have also tried to show how this threat is
mitigated. Moreover, I incorporate qualitative data in chapter 6 in order to add yet
another element of defense against the possible misinterpretations from faulty
data. As a rule, I approach the findings from this study cautiously and with
cautious conclusions, ever aware of the limitations involved in statistical analysis.
A Note on Causality
The data used is cross-sectional, observational data garnered from surveys;
as a result, even after running regressions to estimate the relationship between my
main independent variable of concern (membership) and my main dependent
variables (indexical measures of traditional, electoral, and non-electoral forms of
participation), I cannot infer a causal relationship. All that will be relatively
certain is the magnitude and direction of the correlation. The technical and
statistical considerations involved in hypothesizing a causal relationship will be
dealt with in detail in chapter 6. The theoretical considerations have already been
presented in the beginning of this chapter. Theoretically, past studies and theories
regarding organizational influence on political participation have suggested that if
there is a significant relationship, it runs from membership to participation, not
the reverse.
52
Still, there are theoretical reasons to believe that at least two other causal
flows may be present. First, an individual may be chosen to be a part of these
organizations because they are already active participators. The elite
organizations may choose individuals who are prominent, active and vocal to
become members. In this sense, political participation (through networks where
individuals are visible) causes people to be invited to join. Second,
complementing this causal direction is self-selection. It could be that individuals
who choose to be part of these organizations choose to do so because they are
politically active individuals. In slightly different terms, their reasons for
accepting an invitation to join could be that some external factor makes them
active in both the political process and the process of joining organizations.
It is likely that causality does not flow in one direction; instead, there may
be simultaneous directions that interact with and reinforce one another. Because
this issue of causality is quite important to this investigation, I return to these
theories again in the second half of chapter 6. Much of that chapter is devoted to
looking at the in-depth interviews of archons and links to determine what causal
directions and mechanisms appear to be the strongest.
53
CHAPTER 4
MEMBERSHIP AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Through analyses of both NBISS and NBES data, I look to see the effect
that elite black social organizations have on the traditional political participation
of high-SES blacks in order to test H1. The NBISS data is the main data set of my
analysis; however, I use the NBES data set in order to confirm the validity of my
results and see if my results are applicable nationally, as it is a national data set
with a larger sample size. This chapter is concerned with the more traditional
forms of political participation in order to see if these elite black social
organizations even have an impact on what is ordinarily considered to encapsulate
the political process. Later in chapters 5 and 6, I turn to a discussion of the
differences between electoral and non-electoral participation, among other
analyses.
Members are Active Participators
54
The NBISS data reveals that members of Sigma Pi Phi and the Links, Inc.
are quite similar demographically to high-SES non-members. Because the NBISS
data was collected in order to survey only blacks considered to be high-SES
(annual household income levels at or above the $60,000-$80,000 USD 2007
range and attainment of at least an associate’s degree), the summary statistics
presented in Table 4.1 compare individuals who are more or less similar on all
demographic factors. The main difference is whether or not they are members of
Boulé or Links. This method of data collection strengthens any significant results
that I find from my analysis of the difference between those who are members and
those who are not, for many common independent variables (like income and
education) are held constant.
Table 4.1 shows an interesting trend with regard to those who are
members of either Boulé or Links and those who are not. It appears that those
who are members tend to be more involved in other institutions like the church
and non-racial organizations. This finding may suggest either that membership in
these organizations encourages membership in other organizations or simply that
these outside factors may contribute to why certain high-SES blacks tend to be
members of institutions and others do not. For these reasons and because of
previous theoretical and empirical research on these affiliations, I include these
threats to causality in my models as control variables.23
23
Noticeably, I do not include other control variables in my analysis that appear to vary between
members and non-members. These variables include the racial composition of one’s workplace
and the racial make-up of one’s closest friends. These variables are not included because (1) there
is little theoretical or empirical literature that would suggest their inclusion, (2) they do not vary as
many of the other variables that are included in the controls and (3) even when they are included
55
TABLE 4.1
Politically, members are also more active than non-members, which would
appear to confirm the main thesis of the CVM. Table 4.2 reveals summary
statistical findings that would suggest that the CVM would hold. There is
suggestive evidence that there is something about being a member of these two
black social organizations that correlates with political participation. These
in all of the regression analyses run, they prove insignificant and do not affect the significance
level of the membership variable.
NBISS Descriptive Data: Demographics and Affiliations (in percentages).
Member
of either
Boulé or
Links
N=66
Non-
Memb.
N=9
Boulé
Memb.
N= 28
Links
Memb.
N= 38
Demographics
Gender ( male) 42.42 44.44 100 0
Annual Household Income ($100,000+ in USD 2007) 81.54 87.5 96.43 70.27
Education (with graduate degree or higher) 77.27 77.78 82.14 73.68
Organizational Affiliations
Jack and Jill (members as children) 13.64 11.11 3.57 21.06
Black Advancement Organizations (members) 66.67 66.67 75 60.53
Non-racial Organizations (members) 83.33 66.67 75 89.47
Church (those who attend once a week or more) 65.15 44.44 50 76.31
Black Fraternity (members) 69.7 55.56 64.29 73.68
Social Networks
Work in a majority white workplace 51.85 44.44 42.86 61.54
Work in a majority black workplace 24.07 33.33 28.57 19.23
Have majority black friends 84.85 77.78 75 92.11
Extent of Involvement in Boule/Links
Participate in at least 3 distinct activities 46.97 N/A 39.29 52.63
Member for > 25 years 23.44 N/A 11.11 32.43
56
members are active with regard to voting. Although a slightly larger percentage of
non-members voted in the 2004 presidential election, the results are basically the
same. The reason why members who voted is 98% instead of 100% is because
one survey respondent did not vote. Despite this one individual, the trend is clear:
high-SES blacks (both members and non-members) report extremely high voter
participation rates.24
The participation rates in the other 5 traditional political
activities that the NBISS measured reveal that members are just as or more active
than non-members in 4 out of 5 of the political acts. None of the non-members
have engaged in a political rally or march within the past 5 years, while 62% of
members have. About 10% more of the members have written a letter to their
politician within the past 5 years. With regard to organizing a voter registration or
other political drive within the timeframe of 5 years, members and non-members
are roughly the same. Like engagement in political rallies/marches, no non-
members volunteered in a political campaign within the past 5 years, but a good
number of members (29%) had.
The final act of political participation, donating to a political campaign,
does not follow the expectations of social organizational membership and its
24
When reporting self-described voter participation rates, much political science literature has
shown that people tend to over-report their voting habits because there is a social expectation that
voting is a civic duty. The over-reporting of voting, however, should not be a problem for this
project for two reasons. First, the proportion of over-reporting should be the same for those who
are members and those who are non-members. Because my comparison of their political
participation rates is relative and not absolute, there should be no statistical problem. Second, the
NBISS was an anonymous, mail-in survey. Because the respondents were not answering the
questions of an interviewer, there is no social expectation or judgment implicit in the respondents’
answering of each survey question. Thus, there’s no rational reason to lie about one’s extent of
voter (or other form of) participation.
57
TABLE 4.2
NBISS Political Participation of Members and Non-Members.
Type of Political Participation within past 5
years
Member
(% yes)
Non-
Member
(% yes)
Presidential Vote (2004 Election) 98% 100%
Rally/March 62% 0%
Letter to Politician 43% 33%
Voter Registration or other Political Drive 11% 11%
Volunteer in a Political Campaign 29% 0%
Donate to a Political Campaign 91% 100%
effect on political participation. Unlike with the other descriptive findings, a
significant number of non-members were more active on this measure than
members were. While 100% of non-members donated to a political campaign
within the past 5 years, just 91% of members donated to a political campaign.
Unlike voting, the difference between members and non-members is more
substantial. Six of the 66 members surveyed responded that they did not donate to
a political campaign, suggesting that this result may not be a simple anomaly.
While it may be that membership in these black social organizations provides
negative incentives for donating, it may also be that income is a large explanatory
variable of donating to political campaigns. Because the annual household income
of members is slightly lower than that of non-members, this variable may be able
to explain why it appears that membership in a social organization is negatively
correlated with political donations.
While these descriptive findings, overall, appear to confirm an
organizational effect on participation, such an effect cannot be determined
58
without controlling for other, potentially confounding variables. In the next
section, I use OLS regression analysis to determine the independent relationship
between membership and participation. I use the traditional index of political
participation described in chapter 3. This index’s correlation with membership is
0.18. While the correlation is of a small magnitude, it is large enough to be certain
that the relationship is positive. Regression analysis will help to find out just
exactly what membership means regarding one’s level of traditional political
participation.
OLS Regression Analysis of NBISS Data
In order to test H1, which states that membership in an elite black social
organization should have a positive effect on the political participation (as
traditionally defined) of a member, I employ OLS regression analysis of the
NBISS data set. First, I run an analysis on the dependent variable (index of
traditional political participation) and use the four standard control variables.
Through this analysis, I develop my baseline model of traditional political
participation. In this baseline model, the four standard control variables are:
gender (male), household income, education, and working status.
Table 4.3 reveals the results of OLS regression analysis of the baseline
model of traditional political participation. Being a member increases an
individual’s political participation by nearly one full political act. From this
baseline model, it appears that the relationship predicted in H1 is correct. Of the
independent variables in the model, membership is the only variable that is
59
TABLE 4.3
Predicting Traditional Political Participation:
NBISS Baseline Model.
Independent Variables
Regression Coefficient
(Robust Standard Errors)
Member .71 **(.31)
Gender (Male) .44 (.28)
Education - .19 (.31)
Household Income - .29 (.20)
Working Status .29 (.40)
Constant 2.13** (.86)
R2 =0.09
N = 73
* Significant at .1 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
Note: “Traditional Political Participation” is an index of the
political acts of (1) rally/march, (2) writing a letter, (3) voter-
registration/other drive, (4) political campaign volunteer, and
(5) donating to a campaign. Each act is given equal weight.
statistically significant at the .05 level. While this model predicts that membership
in an elite black social organization increases the political participation of the
individual, this model only explains 9% of the variability in the dependent
variable of political participation. It appears that there may be other factors that go
into determining the extent of an individual’s activity in the political process.
From a look at the several factors included in the CVM, it appears that other
variables, like religious affiliations, community affiliations, and other types of
networks should be included in the model. Thus, I employ an expanded model of
political participation that includes the four other independent control variables
described in chapter 3.
60
Table 4.4 shows the results of the OLS regression of the expanded model
for political participation. In this expanded model, I include the four other control
variables: American parents, black advancement organization, non-racial
organization, and church. Immediately, it appears that the model is better than the
baseline model. The explanatory power of the model with regard to traditional
participation is nearly 50% greater than the baseline model. In other words, the
control variables are able to help explain why the respondents participate.
Nevertheless, the membership variable remains statistically significant at the .05
level, suggesting that whatever confounding effect these variables have is low.
Among these respondents, the greatest determinant of one’s level of participation
is membership in an elite black social organization, specifically Sigma Pi Phi or
the Links, Inc.
In fact, no other variable is significant in the expanded model. At first
glance, this result is surprising; however, the lack of variability in the main
control variables (education, income and working status) could help to explain
this finding. The NBISS data was collected among high-SES black Americans
who are quite similar with regard to demographic features. The general directions
of these non-significant variables, though, are largely in their expected direction
of effect on the dependent variable. Past studies have shown that men are more
active than women (Verba et al. 1995; Schlozman et al. 2005) and that
membership in black advancement organizations, non-racial organizations and the
church should be positively related with participation. The three variables that
were surprising, however, were: education, household income, and working
61
status. Higher levels of education and household income correlate
(insignificantly) with lower levels of participation, whereas individuals who work
participate more often. Again, these results are insignificant and are most likely
explained due to a lack of variability in the data.
TABLE 4.4
Predicting Traditional Political Participation:
NBISS Expanded Model.
Independent Variables
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard Error)
Member .69**(.31)
Gender (Male) .50 (.32)
Education - .10 (.36)
Household Income -.29 (.21)
Working Status .38 (.43)
American Parents .26 (.41)
Black Advancement Organization .18 (.25)
Non-racial Organization .34 (.23)
Church .10 (.13)
R2 = .13
N = 62
* Significant at .1 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
Note: “Traditional Political Participation” is an index of the political acts of
(1) rally/march, (2) writing a letter, (3) voter-registration/other drive, (4)
political campaign volunteer, and (5) donating to a campaign. Each act is
given equal weight.
A more important result of the expanded model is that membership in elite
black social organizations has a greater effect on traditional political participation
for these high-SES blacks than membership in a black advancement organization
or a mainstream civic or social organization does. This finding contradicts the
62
theoretical narratives provided by literature on the black elite and on black
political participatory behavior. Contrary to the assumptions of literature based
upon the black church and black advancement organizations, these black public
spaces may not be the most relevant in defining the participation of high-SES
blacks. Further, these findings suggest that the criticisms of black elites provided
by sociologists like E. Franklin Frazier and Williams (2001) may be misguided.
These elites, aided by their social organizations, participate quite actively.
But from this expanded model, alone, the hypotheses of Frazier and
Williams cannot be completely disproven. While these blacks participate, it must
be determined whether or not the relationship identified in this model is causal,
what type of participation they engage in (electoral or non-electoral or both), and
whether or not the participation is partly based upon a commitment to black
advancement. In chapters 5 and 6, through an analysis of H2 and H3, I begin to
answer these questions. Before moving to chapter 5, I turn first to the NBES data
set to see if these results are in any way external to the specific elite black social
organizations I studied and specific respondents I surveyed.
OLS Regression Analysis of NBES Data
While the NBISS data provides a picture of the difference between
members and non-members of specific elite black social organizations in
Nashville, Tennessee, the NBES provides a picture of members and non-members
– but in a much broader way. Because the NBES is a national data set, OLS
63
regression analysis will help to confirm whether or not the trends found in the
NBISS data are also visible nationally.
The NBES replication is not without its limitations, however. The
dependent variable of analysis that I employ through this data set is not the same
as the dependent variable used in the NBISS. In the NBES, the only question
about membership in a black organization asks if one is a member of “any
organization working to improve the status of black Americans.” Thus, the
independent variable could include several types of black organizations – not just
elite black social organizations.
While the over-breadth that I highlight as problematic for the NBES’s
membership variable is similar to the same over-breadth I criticize in the CVM,
the NBES variable is still particular to and appropriate for the aims of this thesis
for a couple reasons. First, narrowing down the type of organization from any
voluntary, civic or religious organization (which is used in the CVM) to an
exclusively black organization (to be used in the NBES analysis) is important.
While many of the claims I make in this thesis have to do with the “elite” and
“social” elements of elite black social organizations, other claims that I make
have to do only with the “black” element of these organizations. In chapter 2, I
provided several reasons why it is necessary to study black organizations in
general, not just elite black social organizations. Second, it must be taken into
account that I am also interested in high-SES blacks more generally. While I
cannot narrow down the NBES data to look only at black social organizations, I
can (and do) limit the NBES data to look only at high-SES blacks.
64
As with the NBISS data set, I use OLS regression analysis to determine
the effect of membership in a black organization on political participation. The
measure of political participation I use in this analysis is similar to the index of
traditional political participation employed in the NBISS data analysis. The
NBES’s index of traditional political participation includes: (1) the act of
donating or raising money for a campaign, (2) the act of protesting/demonstrating,
(3) voting in the 1992 presidential election, (4) the act of working for a party or
political campaign, and (5) the act of writing a public official. These 5 acts are the
same acts included in the NBISS index, except for the act of organizing a voter-
registration or other political drive, which was not asked in the NBES. Also, the
NBES index includes voting. I include voting because it is a crucial feature of any
index of political participation, and unlike the NBISS data set, the NBES data set
has a greater amount of variation on this measure of political participation.
I begin with an analysis of the baseline model of traditional political
participation. Table 4.5 shows that the membership variable has a large,
statistically significant (at the .01 level) effect on the political participation of
individuals. Those who are members of these organizations participate in over one
more political act than those who are not members. Table 4.6 reveals that even
after including the control variables of membership in a community organization
and membership in a church (two variables that, as noted above, have been
hypothesized and shown to have a great influence on political participation), the
65
TABLE 4.5
Predicting Traditional Political Participation:
NBES Baseline Model.
Independent Variables
Regression
Coefficient (Robust
Standard Error)
Member of Black Organization 1.10***(.36)
Age .39*(.20)
Gender (Male) .54*(.32)
Education .34 (.36)
Income .14 (.14)
Working Status - .31 (.54)
Adjusted R2 = .24
N = 42
* Significant at .1 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
Note: “Traditional Political Participation” is slightly different
for the NBES model. This variable is an index of the political
acts of (1) donating to a political campaign, (2) protesting/
demonstrating, (3) voting, (4) working on a political campaign,
and (5) writing a letter.
effect of membership in a black organization remains.25
Those who are members
engage in nearly one more act than those who are non-members. This relationship
holds after controlling for several control variables that are correlated with both
participation and membership in a black organization.
While this finding does not, and cannot, confirm H1, it does provide
suggestive evidence that H1 not only holds for individuals in the Links and Boulé
of Nashville, TN, but also for individuals in elite black social organizations
25
These two control variables are roughly equivalent to the control variables of church and non-
racial organization added in the NBISS analysis. I could not include the other control variables
included in the NBISS (American parents and black advancement organization) because parent’s
country of origin was not asked and the black advancement organization variable is being used in
the NBES analysis as the main independent variable.
66
TABLE 4.6
Predicting Traditional Political Participation:
NBES Expanded Model.
Independent Variables
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust Standard
Error)
Member of Black Organization .91**(.35)
Age .33*(.18)
Gender (Male) .66**(.29)
Education .22 (.35)
Income .22 (.14)
Currently Working - .36 (.44)
Community Organization .79***(.28)
Church .15*(.08)
Adjusted R2 = .32
N = 42
* Significant at .1 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
Note: “Traditional Political Participation” is slightly different
for the NBES model. This variable is an index of the political
acts of (1) donating to a political campaign, (2) protesting/
demonstrating, (3) voting, (4) working on a political campaign,
and (5) writing a letter.
throughout the United States. To add greater legitimacy to this conclusion, it
should be noted that the magnitude of the coefficient is greater than the magnitude
of the membership coefficient in the NBISS model. Because the membership
variable in the NBES most likely includes affiliation with elite black social
organizations (as someone who is just a member of an elite social organization
would respond “yes” to whether or not they are a member of “an organization
working to improve the status of black Americans”), the effect of Boulé and Links
is included in this variable. This inclusion suggests that the NBES membership
67
variable should have a greater effect than the NBISS membership variable –
which it does.
The data appear to confirm the trends that I have found in the NBISS data
regarding organizations and the black upper-class; yet, to ensure that this finding
accurately portrays middle class blacks, I alter my definition of what it means to
be a member of the high-SES black community. As noted in the data sources
section of chapter 3, the NBES high-SES group is scaled down from the larger
NBES respondent group in three ways – by income (must have a household
income of $50,000 USD 1996), by education (must have attained an associates
degree or higher) and by age (must be between the ages of 40-70). This high-SES
group, which I will now refer to as “High-SES(Income and Education),” was used
in my data analysis above. In order to test whether or not different definitions of
middle class result in the same findings, I run OLS regression analysis of High-
SES(Income), which is limited only with regard to income and age, and High-
SES(Education), which is limited only with regard to education and age. In other
words, High-SES(Income) includes all respondents who made above $50,000
USD 1996 and are between the ages of 40-70, while High-SES(Education)
includes all respondents who attained above an associates degree and are between
the ages of 40-70.
A descriptive look at the levels of household income and education of the
3 different sample groups from the NBES (provided in Table 4.7, located in
Appendix A) reveals two noteworthy observations. First, each of these three
groups contains considerable concentrations of individuals in the bottom levels of
68
income and education. This finding is especially true for High-SES(Income) and
High-SES(Education) and not as true for High-SES(Income and Education),
which is the original group I used. Nationally, a small proportion of black
Americans (and non-black Americans, alike) are in the highest levels of education
and household income. From this descriptive look, it also becomes evident that
for black Americans, the combined role that income and education play in the
likelihood of an individual being part of a black advancement organization is
considerable. 69% of those in the most exclusive group – High-SES(Income and
Education) – are members of such organizations, whereas the less exclusive
groups (Income) and (Education) contain 57% and 61%, respectively, of
individuals who are members.
In order to be sure the results from the NBES are not biased by my
definition of what it means to be a high-SES black American, I run OLS
multivariate regressions on High-SES(Income) and High-SES(Education) using
the same expanded model used in the analysis of the original High-SES group.
Table 4.8 shows all three groups’ results side by side for ease of comparison. It is
evident from the results that the strong correlation between membership in a black
organization and political participation is not anomalous. Each group’s regression
coefficient is positive and at least marginally significant.26
Another note of interest has to do with the magnitude differences between
the three groups. While High-SES(Income and Education) has the highest
26
High-SES(Income)’s coefficient is significant at the .11 level, just barely outside of the p-value
necessary for significance. It should be noted that in the baseline model (which is not shown in
Table 4.8) the p-value for this coefficient is at the .05 level.
69
TABLE 4.8
Predicting Traditional Political Participation:
NBES Expanded Models for Each High-SES Group.
Income and
Education
group
Income group
Education
group
Independent
Variables
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Member of Black
Organization
.91**(.35) .44 (.27) .85***(.24)
Age
.33*(.18) .42***(.16) .34**(.15)
Gender (Male)
.66**(.29) - .11 (.24) - .22 (.25)
Education
.22 (.35) .22 (.16) .11 (.26)
Household Income
.22 (.14) .17*(.10) .06 (.04)
Currently Working - .36 (.44) - .84**(.41) .30 (.38)
Member of
Community
Organization
.79***(.28) .87***(.25) .48*(.25)
Church .15*(.08) .12 (.08) .14*(.07)
Adj R2 = .32 Adj R
2 = .33 Adj R
2 = .18
N = 42 N = 74 N = 98
* Significant at .1 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
Note: “Traditional Political Participation” is slightly different for the NBES model. This
variable is an index of the political acts of (1) donating to a political campaign, (2) protesting/
demonstrating, (3) voting, (4) working on a political campaign, and (5) writing a letter.
magnitude and significance level (followed closely by High-SES[Education]),
High-SES(Income) has a relatively moderate magnitude and only fair significance
level. It appears that the better educated and well-off a black American is, the
greater the correlation between his/her membership in black organizations and
70
his/her level of political participation. Further, High-SES(Income) respondents
have a greater correlation between membership in community organizations
(those that are non-racial and similar to the voluntary organizations described in
the CVM) and political participation. This appears to suggest that education has
some sort of influence on the way in which blacks engage in black organizations.
Perhaps better-educated black Americans (the “faultless prophets” to which
Archon Julian referred) gain their civic skills and political interest through black
groups, while those who are either less educated or simply high-SES because of
higher income levels, gain their civic skills and political interest through
mainstream civic/voluntary organizations.
From these results, there is suggestive evidence that the NBISS results are
applicable to and representative of the effect of membership in elite black social
organizations around the country, not just in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Those
who are members of Boulé and Links in New York are probably just as active
compared to non-member high-SES blacks as those who are members in
California. Of course, it cannot be overstated that extrapolating the NBES results
to elite black social organizations must be done cautiously. While the NBES
evidence is very credible for general black organizations and high-SES black
Americans in general, this evidence is only suggestive with regard to links and
archons. Still, after re-defining “high-SES” three different ways and comparing
the NBES results to the NBISS results, the evidence is consistent and flows in one
direction.
71
What can be taken away with far greater certainty from this analysis of the
NBES data is the relationship between black middle class status, general black
organizational membership and political participation. The middle class blacks
who have high levels of income and education derive more from organizational
membership in black advancement organizations. They derive slightly more than
those who only have high levels of education and lower levels of income; and,
they derive a great amount more than those who have high levels of household
income and lower levels of education. Even more noteworthy is that being
involved in mainstream community organizations provides a greater amount of
political participation than being involved in a black advancement organization
for the High-SES(Income) group. For blacks who are solidly part of the
middle/upper class through both high levels of education and high levels of
income (High-SES[Income and Education]), however, being a member of a black
advancement organization provides a much greater influence upon their political
participation than does being a member of a mainstream community organization.
And still, these individuals’ involvement through community organizations also
results in even greater political participation than that of the High-SES(Education)
group. The members of the High-SES(Income and Education) group are solidly
active in both the black community and also the white community – where they,
ostensibly, serve as middle-men for black interests. These findings not only add
complexity to the CVM, but also they show that the most elite of black Americans
derive more participatory behavior and engagement from black organizational
membership than do moderately well-off black Americans. The criticisms of the
72
black elite provided by Frazier and Williams appear to be based upon faulty
assumptions.
Conclusion
From the NBISS data, it appears that membership in elite black social
organizations has a statistically significant, positive effect on political
participation. After controlling for several variables, members of these
organizations are more likely to participate than non-members. While the effect of
membership on political participation may not be a direct effect because of the
exclusion of variables that would measure participatory factors such as civic skills
and interest in politics, it is evident that these participatory factors would have
their effect through membership in Boulé and Links, if the causal mechanisms
theorized by Verba et al. are correct and if the direction of causality flows from
membership to participation. Further, as evidenced both by the NBISS analysis
and also the NBES analysis, there is evidence that despite these participatory
factors, there is something about black organizations that make high-SES blacks
more active than do either mainstream civic/social organizations or black
advancement organizations like the NAACP and the National Urban League.
These organizations have a greater effect on high-SES blacks than do mainstream
voluntary organizations (especially) and black advancement organizations
(secondarily, when looking at the NBISS data). Finally, the last take away from
the NBES analysis is that the black elite are far more active and involved in black
advancement than several theorists have assumed.
73
CHAPTER 5
DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARTICIPATION
Organizational models of political participation tend to make two major
assumptions. First, and most commonly, these models measure organizational
membership in broad terms. As noted in chapter 3, the CVM’s measurement of
membership includes several types of voluntary organizations that could not be
expected to have the same type, magnitude, or even direction of effect on political
participation that the results in the model assume they do. Second, several of these
organizational models assume that a summary measure of political participation is
sufficient to study the effect that organizations have on members’ participation. A
not insignificant number of models do not make this assumption; yet, they also do
not account for the electoral and non-electoral dichotomy on which I focus here.27
27
While Verba et al. (1995) mainly focus on an index of broad measures of participation, they do
divide up the political acts to understand the effect of organizational membership on each act
independently (358, 397, 404, 446). However, these models do not look at the differences between
electoral and non-electoral activities. Further, a few acts that I include in my indices are not a part
of any of the indices in the Verba et al. models. Frederick C. Harris’s Something Within: Religion
74
Below, I proceed to rethink models of organizational influence on political
participation by parsing these two major assumptions. First, I take apart the
NBISS membership dependent variable into its constituent parts (membership in
the Links, Inc. on the one hand and membership in Sigma Pi Phi on the other).
Second, I divide up and add to the traditional index of political participation,
developing two new indices – one for electoral political participation and the
other for non-electoral political participation. From the first process, I will be able
to test H2, in which I hypothesize that Links brings about more active
participators (participation here will still be defined using the traditional index of
political participation) than Boulé. From the second process, I will be able to test
H3, in which I hypothesize that membership in elite black social organizations
will have a greater effect on a member’s non-electoral participation than on
his/her electoral participation.
Boulé and Links: Separate Institutions with Separate Effects
To test H2, I separate the NBISS data by membership in Boulé and
membership in Links. Because Boulé and Links are gendered organizations, this
process simply involved dividing the sample by gender. All respondents who
were female (which included 38 Links respondents and 5 control group
in African-American Political Activism is probably the piece of scholarship that most closely looks
at non-electoral participation as its own mode of activity. However, his definition of “protest” (or
non-electoral) action is more anti-authoritarian than mine. He defines protest-demand modes of
activism as “direct action, organized around specific political goals, either protesting measures that
produce harm or demanding measures that produce good” (Harris 1994, 52). Further, his index of
protest-demand measures the activity of blacks in 1966. I do not intend to engage in such a
historical analysis. Contemporary protest, I argue, is based upon rallies/protesting, community
service/engagement and other indirect ways of influencing government.
75
respondents) were part of the Links analysis. All respondents who were male
(which included 28 Boulé respondents and 4 control group respondents) were part
of the Boulé analysis.28
Prior to looking to the data analysis, it must be noted that the findings
could reflect gender differences just as much as they could reflect differences in
the organizations of Boulé and Links. Because there are no men in Links and
there are no women in Boulé, there is seemingly no way to be sure how much of
the difference between members of these organizations should be attributed to the
institutional mechanisms of the organization or the participatory differences
between men and women. As noted in some previous literature (Verba et al.
1995) and through my own data analysis of the NBES (Table 4.6), being a female
(after controlling for several variables) has a significantly negative relationship
with participation. However, other literature (Harris 1994) and my NBISS
analysis have found gender to be insignificantly related to participation.
Ultimately, the results that come from dividing up the two organizations
can be viewed as mainly reflective of organizational differences, but will be
viewed as organizational differences informed by gender. While gender is
perfectly related to membership in each organization, gender most likely does not
have a relationship with whatever participatory mechanisms (if they exist) are a
part of the organizational context. Verba et al. (1995) find that gender is unrelated
28
Again, the control groups are small and non-random. However, as provided above, I employ
several techniques to make sure the control group is reasonably representative. Also, the potential
for omitted variable bias (due to there being unobserved characteristics as to why some individuals
choose to accept an invitation to be in Boulé or Links and some do not) is real; however, I mitigate
the likelihood of this assumption in the latter half of chapter 6.
76
to the participatory factors they study; men and women are affected in generally
the same ways. However, this same result cannot be proven from the data
presented here; in fact, some of the mechanisms that I hypothesize to be part of
elite black social organizations (such as the mechanism of group consciousness)
could certainly be related to gender. As a result, I proceed to interpret my findings
in gendered terms. Thus, if I find that Links membership significantly relates to
participation, I only conclude that Links membership has a positive relationship
for women, not for any person.29
Having explained this caveat, I turn to the results. The results presented in
Table 5.1 confirm the underlying premise of H2, but negate the hypothesis
overall. The premise that different organizations – even if they are very similar –
have different influences on their members’ political participation holds. The
results reveal that Links and Boulé (two elite black social organizations) have
different relationships to participation (again, perhaps partly due to differences in
the way in which each gender interacts with organizational mechanisms).
Membership in Boulé correlates with men being more politically active than
Links membership does with women. While both the baseline and expanded
models of participation for Boulé reveal that membership in the organization
29
The regression analysis of each organization compares members of each organization to non-
members of their same gender. Thus, the comparison, for example, is not between women in Links
and all non-Links members; rather, it is between women in Links and all female non-members.
Therefore, the conclusion described here can be drawn. Any relationship found with regard to
Links is explanatory for women, but not necessarily for men. The larger point is that gender
cannot be chosen; thus, the goal is to find out whether or not being a member of Links or Boulé
can influence participation in addition to any negative or positive effect that gender has on
participatory behavior.
77
TABLE 5.1
Predicting Traditional Political Participation for Each Organization:
NBISS Baseline and Expanded Models for Boulé and Links.
Boulé (Men) Links (Women)
Baseline
Model
Expanded
Model
Baseline
Model
Expanded
Model
Independent
Variables
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Member 1.08***(.46)
.90*(.48) .35 (.44) .22 (.44)
Education - .02 (.61)
.30 (.75) - .30 (.36) - .42 (.41)
Household Income
.17 (.15)
- .17 (.30) - .37*(.22) - .43*(.22)
Working Status₁ (dropped) (dropped) .28 (.41) .25 (.41)
American Parents -- .76*(.37) -- - .65*(.34)
Black Advancement
Organization
-- - .09 (.53) -- .35 (.34)
Non-racial
Organization
-- .57 (.48) -- - .00 (.28)
Church -- .23 (.24) -- - .11 (.16)
Constant .60 (.89)
.23 (1.16)
2.83***(.96)
4.02***(1.47)
R2 = .08 R
2 = .17 R
2 = .11 R
2 = .15
N = 32 N = 32 N=41 N=41
* Significant at .10 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
1: The independent variable working status is dropped in the Boulé models because all
member respondents and control group respondents answered “yes” to whether or not he
currently works.
Note: “Traditional Political Participation” is an index of the political acts of (1)
rally/march, (2) writing a letter, (3) voter-registration/other drive, (4) political campaign
volunteer, and (5) donating to a campaign. Each act is given equal weight.
correlates significantly with greater levels of traditional political participation,
neither the baseline nor expanded models of participation for Links reveal that
78
membership has any relation to this form of participation. The coefficient for
Boulé suggests that membership encourages nearly one more political act. For
Links, the coefficient is far smaller (.35 in the baseline model and .22 when
additional control variables are included).
The results not only serve to disprove H2 as a whole, but also the results
serve to question H1’s applicability to all types of elite black social organizations.
However, because of the overwhelming evidence (past literature/theoretical
evidence presented in chapters 2 and 3, empirical evidence from NBISS data in
chapter 4, and empirical evidence from NBES data in chapter 4), this result does
not doom H1. Instead, these results imply that in the case of the Links, Inc.
membership does not have a relationship with a traditional index of political
participation. That said, the coefficients are in the positive direction, which was
hypothesized. The lack of statistical significance could simply be a result of the
small sample size. Even if this attribution to the sample size is inconsequential,
the findings are certain in their comparative nature. Comparatively, being a
member of Boulé increases one’s traditional modes of political participation to a
greater extent for men than being a member of Links does for women.
While H2 has been proven incorrect, the evidence from this analysis
serves to confirm another premise of my study – the CVM is incomplete. This
evidence that links and archons have different relationships to the measure of
traditional political participation provides empirical data to show that looking at
an aggregate measure of membership to predict the dependent variable (traditional
participation) is not particularly useful. Like the CVM, I originally measured a
79
broader notion of membership, including membership in both Boulé and Links.
From this broader analysis, it originally appeared that membership in all types of
elite black social organizations had a significant influence on traditional
participation. However, when I divided up the membership variable, I found that
only membership in one organization has a significant effect, while membership
in another does not.
The Varieties of Political Participation (Electoral and Non-Electoral)
In H3, I predict that membership in an elite black social organization will
have a greater effect on activities that involve non-electoral politics than on those
that involve electoral politics. This hypothesis derives from two theoretical
assumptions. First, different types of political acts require different types of
resources and political skills. Donating to a political campaign involves political
interest and economic resources, while participating in a march requires social
networks and recruitment mechanisms. The CVM finds that organizational
membership significantly influences all the participatory factors – civic skills,
civic vocabulary, recruitment, political interest and political information (Verba et
al. 1995, 434); however, these resources are affected to varying degrees. I
hypothesize that membership in elite black social organizations affects the
participatory factors of civic skills, political interest and political recruitment the
most and results in members being more likely to influence non-electoral activity
to a further extent than electoral activity.
80
My second theoretical assumption has to do with the racial bonding that
most likely takes place in these all-black organizations. I suspect that participation
in black social organizations will foster greater political group consciousness –
such as black solidarity and a desire to bring about black advancement. Dawson
(1994) theorized that black organizations encourage in their members a sense of
group consciousness, as evidenced by the black utility heuristic (defined earlier in
chapters 2 and 3). Other scholars have empirically documented such effects of
group consciousness through theoretical as well as empirical methods relating
mostly to the black church (Harris 1994; Harris-Lacewell 2004). This black
political group consciousness (if it exists), characterized by a desire to give back
to the black community and a belief that blacks can affect government through
political action, would have the effect of making members more focused upon
non-electoral forms of participation than electoral forms of participation, such as
the protest politics referenced by Bayard Rustin.30
To test H3, I begin with Table 5.2. This table provides correlational
coefficients between being a member (all three types of membership) and each
30
While the idea of political group consciousness has much theoretical and empirical support, the
NBISS data is ambiguous regarding the theory. Shown in Table 5.4 (located in Appendix A), the
few variables that are close measurements of group consciousness had no statistically significant
relationship with membership. (It should be noted that my measures, such as “blacks should work
together” and “importance of giving back to the black community,” were questions that are new to
the NBISS. As such, they have not been verified to measure the outcomes I intended for them to
measure.) While this finding is surprising, it does not mean that the members of these
organizations are not racially conscious in their politics; rather, it simply suggests that
membership in these elite organizations neither amplifies nor dampens group consciousness. At
best, the data has too little variability on these measures to produce any significant results. Either
way, the first theoretical assumption regarding participatory factors would best be able to explain
any relationship between membership and non-electoral participation in the data provided here.
81
TABLE 5.2
Member Correlations with Measures of Political Participation:
NBISS Data.
Type of Political Participation
Aggregate
Membership₁ Correlation
Coefficient
Boulé
Membership
Correlation
Coefficient
Links
Membership
Correlation
Coefficient
Index of Traditional Political
Participation
0.18 0.28 0.10
Index of Electoral Political
Participation
0.10 0.20 0.02
Index of Non-Electoral Political
Participation
0.24 0.19 0.30
Presidential Vote (2004) ₂ -0.04 * *
Rally/March (past 5 years) 0.27 0.22 0.22
Letter to Politician (past 5 years) 0.06 0.12 0.02
Voter Registration or other
Political Drive (past 5 years)
-0.00 0.14 -0.13
Volunteer in a Political Campaign
(past 5 years)
0.22 0.20 0.23
Donate to a Political Campaign
(past 5 years)
-0.11 * -0.15
Member of Black Advancement
Organization
0.00 0.00 0.00
Community Service (extent per
year)
0.19 0.00 0.36
1: These correlations represent the correlations between the members of Links and Boulé combined
and each type of political participation.
2: The correlation coefficients of this variable are skewed because only one individual in the entire
study responded in the negative with regard to voting in the2004 presidential election. The
individual was a member, so the correlation coefficient between membership and voting is likely
skewed.
political act. These political acts not only include the political acts that were part
of the index of traditional political participation, but also they include two other
acts: extent of involvement in community service and membership in a black
advancement organization. Again, these two acts are included as part of non-
82
electoral participation because I define non-electoral participation as that black
“protest” activity that is characterized by activities that are private and voluntary,
yet still have an effect on the political process/government. Service/ community
building can affect government either by working through governmental
mechanisms or by removing the need for it altogether; black advancement
organizations can affect the political process through legal means or through the
advocacy of policies and programs. Finally, the table also includes the
correlational coefficients between membership and the three indices of
participation: traditional political participation, electoral political participation and
non-electoral political participation. As explained and thoroughly defined in
chapter 3, these indices each include 3-5 of the different political acts that relate
to the form of participation they intend to measure.
Looking at the correlations between different types of membership and the
indices of political participation reveals a trend that provides preliminary evidence
in favor of H3. There is a higher correlation between being an archon and
electoral participation (0.20) than between being a link and electoral participation
(0.02). In fact, this preliminary evidence appears to reveal that there is pretty
much no correlation between membership in Links and electoral participation. In
addition, there is a higher correlation between being a link and non-electoral
participation (0.30) than between being an archon and non-electoral participation
(0.19). These results can be explained by the individual political acts. Members of
Links are more active in the non-electoral process mainly due to their high level
of community service involvement (0.36); however, this positive relationship
83
holds even after removing the community service variable.31
Further, this act is
not the only one in which links are active. They are also very likely to engage in
rallies or marches (0.22) – another non-electoral act. For the archons of Boulé,
their electoral and non-electoral activities appear equally strong. Archons have the
same correlation with marching/rallying (0.22) as links and they have a larger,
positive relationship with letter writing than do links (0.12). Being a member of
Boulé, though, has no relationship with community service activity or black
advancement organization membership. Electorally, archons are slightly more
active. They are active in political drives (0.14) and volunteering in political
campaigns (0.20). This preliminary evidence suggests that H3 is correct; however,
to find the direct effect of membership, I proceed to control for several variables
using OLS regression analysis.
The OLS regression methodology here is similar to that used in chapter 4.
I use the same control variables and linear regression techniques. However, in this
analysis, I do not look at the baseline model because the expanded model allows
for a more thorough analysis. The expanded model more nearly predicts the direct
effect of membership because four other pertinent variables are included as
controls. In addition to this change, I also do not run a regression on an aggregate
measure of membership, for chapter 4 has suggested the relative futility of such
an approach. Instead, I look immediately at the membership of Links and Boulé
separately.
31
After removing the community service variable from the index of non-electoral participation,
the correlation between links membership and the new index is 0.22, which is still positive and
relatively strong when compared to other correlations.
84
Table 5.3 shows the results of OLS regression analysis on the two
different types of participation (electoral and non-electoral) for Boulé and Links.
The results show that H3 holds for Links, but does not hold for Boulé. Links are
more active in the non-electoral process as a result of their membership. While
membership in Links has a relationship with non-electoral political participation,
there is absolutely no relationship between membership and electoral
participation amongst women. For archons, membership in Boulé is significantly
related to electoral political participation, but not to non-electoral political
participation.32
The finding for Boulé contradicts H3, in which I hypothesized that
individuals in elite black social organizations would participate more in non-
electoral forms of participation than in electoral forms.
Before discussing the implications of these findings, I should state that I
could not undertake a full-scale investigation into each individual non-electoral
and electoral political act. Because of data limitations (see Table 5.5 in Appendix
A),33
I was unable to disaggregate the indices of electoral and non-electoral
participation and run meaningful logit regressions on the binary variables. I was
32
It should be noted that while the membership variable is insignificant in the Boulé model for
non-electoral participation, the membership variable’s coefficient is of a larger magnitude than it
is in the model for electoral participation. 33
If I had analyzed each political act, I would have had to use logit regression analysis because
each individual act is coded in a binary system of 1, 0. OLS regression analysis could not have
been used because its resulting estimated line to represent the probability of the dependent variable
could go below 0, which is impossible for a binary variable (Stock and Watson 200, 301-310).
Using logit regression with the NBISS data set was impossible for nearly every act because
several of the variables would drop due to their success or failure at perfectly predicting the
dependent variable. In other words, the lack of variability in many of the political acts (as
evidenced by Table 5.5, located in Appendix A) disables the effective use of logit analysis.
85
TABLE 5.3
NBISS OLS Regressions on Electoral and Non-Electoral Political Participation for
Boulé and Links.
Boulé (Men) Links (Women)
Electoral
Non-Electoral
Electoral
Non-Electoral
Independent
Variables
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Regression
Coefficient
(Robust
Standard
Error)
Membership
.32**(.15) .43 (.53) -.04 (.28) .77**(.32)
Education
.16 (.33) .42 (.46) -.18 (.30) .14 (.35)
Household Income
.03 (.16) -.10 (.21) -.16 (.12) -.01 (.22)
Working Status₁ (dropped) (dropped) .16 (.23) -.18 (.44)
American Parents .15 (.20) .79*(.41) .18 (.27) .36 (.25)
Black Advancement
Organization₂
-.08 (.28) N/A -.01 (.25) N/A
Non-racial
Organization
.30 (.31) .84*(.46) .20 (.17) .24 (.42)
Church .10 (.12) .24*(.14) .04 (.17) .02 (.17)
Constant .29 (.62)
.33 (1.02)
1.36 (1.01)
1.03 (1.46)
R2 = .11 R
2 = .28 R
2 = .07 R
2 = .12
N = 32 N = 32 N= 40 N= 40
* Significant at .10 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
1: The independent variable working status is dropped in the Boulé models because every member
respondent and male control group respondent answered “yes” to whether or not he currently works.
2: This variable, black advancement organization membership, was not included as a control in the
regressions on non-electoral political participation because it is a part of that index.
Note: “Electoral Participation” is an index of several political acts: (1) organization a voter-
registration or other drive, (2) volunteering in a campaign and (3) donating to a campaign. “Non-
Electoral Participation” is an index of the act of (1) rallying/marching, (2) writing a letter, (3) some
level of engagement in community service, and (4) black advancement organization membership.
86
unable to run regressions on each individual political act to see if, for example,
membership in Boulé had a statistically significant relationship with taking part in
a rally/march. If I had been able to conduct this hypothetical analysis, the
implications of membership in these organizations (with regard to only the act of
rally/march) would be more thoroughly understood. It may have turned out that
membership in Boulé was in fact related to some forms of non-electoral
participation, but not others. This possibility could have occurred because some
unrelated forms of non-electoral participation could have outweighed the related
forms when indexed. This possibility reveals one limitation of using indices.
Nevertheless, I am interested in the general trend of non-electoral participation vs.
electoral participation. Indexical measurement allows conclusions to be drawn
about general trends of participation and about potential mechanisms for a certain
type of participation. Further, the correlations presented in Table 5.2 provide a
rough estimate of the effect of membership on each individual act (albeit absent
the inclusion of controls). Thus, a cursory analysis of the effect of each
organization on each political act can be undertaken.
Returning to Table 5.3, a couple of interesting conclusions can be drawn
from the results. First, these findings reveal that even the most similar voluntary
organizations differ in the type of political participation in which they encourage
their members to engage. The CVM and other theories of political behavior do not
analyze specific organizations; instead, they assume that these organizations all
affect participation in the same way. It is evident that this assumption in the
87
literature is false. Participation of members varies even within elite black social
organizations.
Second, the significance of church involvement and of membership in
non-racial organizations is important to note. Table 5.3 reveals that in the Boulé
model one’s non-electoral participation is significantly related to being a member
of a non-racial civic organization and being active in one’s church. These results
reveal not only that membership in Boulé has no relationship with the index of
non-electoral political participation, but also that the relationship is comparably
less significant than is the relationship with non-racial organization membership
and church involvement is for these high-SES black men. In chapter 4, elite black
social organizations were found to be more important in predicting traditional
political participation than the church, non-racial organizations, and black
advancement organizations. This finding does not remain in the case of the non-
electoral participation of men. This result suggests that Boulé’s status as an elite
black social organization – often viewed as aloof from the rest of the black
community (and even white society) – may be warranted. Still, Boulé
membership is significantly related to electoral participation, which one could
argue is just as important to black advancement and civic engagement in society
as is non-electoral participation. While Archon Percy Julian may have disagreed
with this statement, activist Bayard Rustin may not have (especially if the
electoral participation is geared toward black betterment through the election of
black politicians or other officials who would promote black interests).
88
Conclusion
Models of participation are overbroad and long on assumptions. The data
above reveals that two similar organizations can have different effects on their
members’ traditional forms of participation. Most participatory studies do not take
this into account, using membership variables in their analyses that include all
sorts of voluntary involvements. These findings regarding organizational
differences reveal the potential inapplicability of participatory models to many
different organizations that would be considered voluntary or non-political.
Specifically, this chapter has found that members of Links participate
more actively in non-electoral political activities than other women, while
members of Boulé are more engaged in the electoral political process than other
men. Nonetheless, it is also clear that membership in Boulé also positively
correlates with certain non-electoral behaviors like letter writing and rallying to
the same (and at times greater) extent that membership in Links does. Likewise,
membership in Links is positively correlated with the electoral activity of
volunteering in a political campaign to a greater extent than Boulé membership is.
Thus, while the trends regarding non-electoral and electoral participatory behavior
for these organizations’ members are clear, there is some important overlap.
89
CHAPTER 6 IN THEIR OWN WORDS: THE PARTICIPATION OF ARCHONS AND LINKS
This chapter has three main objectives, all stemming from the limits of
quantitative data with regard to telling a complete story. First, I provide a detailed
description of the 11 respondents who agreed to sit for in-depth interviews. In
their own words, I relay their beliefs and thoughts regarding their membership in
elite black social organizations, their socio-economic status and their views on
blackness and black advancement. This descriptive investigation helps to
understand exactly who makes up these organizations (an extension of the
discussion begun in chapter 2) and whether or not these high-SES blacks are as
aloof as critical studies of the black elite portray them to be. Second, this chapter
aims see if the qualitative data confirms the modes of political participation that
the quantitative data finds. Are links more engaged in the non-electoral political
process? Do archons report taking part more in the internal process of electoral
politics? Finally, this chapter revisits the issue of causality. Taking the
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institutional mechanisms of the participatory factors (civic skills, political interest
and political recruitment) that Verba et al. (1995) find to be significant
explanatory variables in the CVM, I analyze whether or not these three factors are
gained through membership in either of these two organizations.
Prior to looking at these three motivations for this chapter, the importance
of causal inference must be illuminated. As revealed in chapters 4 and 5, there is a
relationship between membership in each organization and at least one form of
political participation.34
Despite these relationships, causality cannot be inferred
because this data is observational survey data, not data taken from a controlled
experiment. Despite the inability to resolutely prove a causal relationship between
membership and participation, strong evidence can be found to suggest that a
causal relationship exists. In chapter 3, I provided several theoretical reasons for
believing the causal flow runs from membership to participation, not the reverse
and not in a simultaneous manner. Some of these reasons were: (1) the history and
institutional structures of each organization, (2) the empirical evidence on
voluntary associations and political participation, and (3) the non-political nature
of these organizations (especially Boulé). In the final section of this chapter, I add
34
This relationship is important because the first step in theorizing causality is to remove the
possibility of lurking variables and confounding variables that may influence the relationship
between the main independent variable of analysis (membership) and the dependent variable
(participation). Through the quantitative analysis in chapters 4 and 5, I was able to remove the
most obvious potential lurking and confounding variables by controlling for them in my regression
analyses. Although it is impossible to know for certain that all lurking or confounding variables
have been controlled for, it is rational to operate under that assumption because of my use of other
empirical evidence and the reliance on defensible theories in determining my control variables.
91
to this case by providing qualitative evidence regarding the participatory factors
outlined in the CVM.
Archons and Links: Beliefs and Thoughts on Race, Status and Membership
Table 6.1 provides a short-hand look at some of the demographics and
affiliations of the 11 respondents.35
Five are women and six are men. Because the
organizations are gender-specific, the five women are members of Links, while
the six men are archons in Boulé. In order to safeguard the identities of the
individuals, I did not include their ages, professions or years of membership in
Table 6.1 These factors, though, are wide-ranging. All of the respondents are
somewhere between the ages of 40-70; they are professors, corporate executives,
physicians, attorneys, and publishers; and, their years of membership in the
organizations range from 2 years to more than 25. All of the individuals, except
one, stated that the majority of their friends were black Americans. In addition, all
of them characterized their friends as middle class to wealthy/ upper-class.
Among the respondents, all expressed the belief in a “cultural” difference between
blacks and whites – though most believed that this difference is a function of
class, socio-economic standing or a tendency to self-segregate. No one expressed
a racialist belief in a fundamental difference between blacks and whites.
35
Two important notes about this table. First, as stated in chapter 3, I changed the names and other
identifying information of the respondents. Second, the inconsistency in this table is intentional. In
order to capture an accurate picture of these respondents, it was my intention to be as faithful to
their wording/ view of the world as possible. As such, I used their terms in describing their
demographics. For example, if the respondent referred to his/her friends as “African-American”
instead of “black,” I used the term “African-American” – not “black”, which I have been using
throughout this thesis in order to refer to African-Americans. Also, I use direct quotations for
some of the responses, which can be denoted by the use of quotation marks.
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TABLE 6.1
Archon and Link Demographics/Affiliations:
NBISS Descriptive Statistics from In-Depth Interviews.
Black
Adv.
Org.
Non-
racial
Org.
Race and SES of
Majority of
Close Friends
Political
Activity
Activity in
Boulé/Links
John Yes Yes African-
American,
middle to upper
Not very
active
Very active
Michael Yes Yes African-
American,
middle to upper
Very active Very active
William Yes Yes African-
American,
professional
Very active Very active
David Yes Yes Black, higher-
income
Very active Active
Richard Yes Yes African-
American,
upper-middle
Very active Very active
Mark Yes Yes Black, upper-
middle class
Very active Active
Patricia Yes Very
few
Black, very
well-off
Very active *
Kimberly Yes Yes Mixed, upper-
middle or upper
Active Very active
Karen Yes Yes African-
American,
middle to upper
Active Very Active
Lisa Yes (not
active)
"No
longer”
Black, affluent Active, but
"more
active in
the past"
Very Active
Mary No Yes White, wealthy "Very, very
and very"
"Fairly
Active"
Along with these individuals’ high socioeconomic status comes a
noticeable amount of elitism and status amplification amongst some, but not all,
of the respondents. For example, Michael, who was one of the more politically
conservative of the respondents, stated at the end of his interview that he was glad
93
I was undertaking this investigation for little is known about middle class blacks.
He remarked:
This is very important for you to do this [research], because most people think that
African-Americans are lower income, but since 1954, the mix of African-Americans with
lower income has decreased. And there have been more middle and upper-income people
whose political thoughts are much different […] And I, I think it’s time somebody did
some studies on both, because I think we tend to do the average. Well, there’s a lot of
people in here [Boulé] who are not average.
While Michael’s comments do not hint at a disregard for or belief in the
inferiority of lower-class blacks, his comments do reveal that he views himself to
be distinct from this group. At the end of my interview with Patricia, she
suggested that most of the women in Links were elitist. She said: “I would say the
Links are the most elitist female organization in Nashville and, really, in the
country.” She gave an example of this elitism by recounting an incident during
which a dark-skinned woman was being put up for membership. In a frank tone,
Patricia commented:
And the person was dark, a professional woman. They were challenging, they didn’t want
her. Boy, I went off on them. I mean, it really made me mad. And so, I went around the
room and I pointed at one person. I said, “you’re a link because you’re light-skinned, you
have long hair and your husband’s a doctor.” And I just went around the room. And I was
saying, “who are you? You don’t even have a job!” […] I didn’t like that because all my
life I’ve been fighting. [In the past], it wasn’t about the light-skinned or the dark-skinned.
We were just Negroes. [Now], we are like white people, really. We do the same thing.
But, it’s gotten a little better now because we have more dark skinned and brown skinned
people [in Links].
Although Patricia decried the elitism of some of her fellow links, she had
admitted earlier in the interview that she too had joined the organization in order
to be exclusive and gain a feeling of social status. About joining the organization,
she stated: “at one point in your life, you want to be elitist.”
The other 9 respondents do not appear to hold views as strong as Michael
or Patricia. They acknowledge their status in the black middle and upper classes,
94
but attribute it to their parents or grandparents, not to themselves. Further, they
are more hesitant about drawing lines between the classes. David noted that
“Many [well-off blacks] were born on third and never hit a triple. Many have
been blessed and don’t realize that they have stood on the shoulders of many
others who are no longer here.” Similarly, Mark said:
Your upper-class blacks typically are there because they’ve set their priorities differently.
They made a decision somewhere down the line – it may not have been my generation
[…] but somewhere down the line, they made a decision that there are certain things that
are important in their family and they want to leave that legacy.
Like Mark, all the respondents noted that the differences between the black elite
and the black lower class were about values and structural problems, whether it be
jobs, poverty or the lack of contact with beneficial social networks. Reflecting on
the differences between her and other blacks, Lisa noted: “Affluent blacks see the
positive in America – what I can be. How you can be a part of it. I think that those
who are poor, are oppressed – they feel they’re going to be there for the rest of
their lives, so why even try to be different? They don’t have the exposure to all of
the wonderful blessings of the United States.”
Lisa’s comment hits at the heart of what it means for these respondents to
be black and middle class. They are both privileged, but also aware of how frail
that privilege is. Because of this understanding and other reasons, all 11 of these
respondents feel a connection to the black community and an obligation to help
other blacks – in spite of the elitism of some. Even Michael expressed a belief in
giving back to other blacks, even though it may not be in line with his economic
philosophy. He stated: “Yes, I do feel an obligation, but I really want to work
with those who really want to succeed. I’m not interested in becoming a person
95
who contributes to their welfare.” Despite Michael’s lack of interest in
contributing to those he may perceive as lazy or unmotivated, he still expressed an
interest in helping other blacks and expressed an understanding of his connection
to them. The other respondents, even Mary who felt that blacks “self-segregate”
themselves too much, were much more expressive in their commitment to other
blacks and general black welfare. Members of Boulé and Links are aware of their
blackness and concerned about the well-being of others – a finding that is
consistent with the predictions of Michael Dawson’s “black utility heuristic36
” – a
concept mentioned previously in chapter 2.
The possible reasons for this connection to, affiliation with and
understanding of other blacks of different class positions relates to why these
members may be a part of these organizations in the first place. These are
individuals who, by and large, work in majority-white work environments and/or
live in majority-white neighborhoods. The same motivation that led to the
creation of these organizations continues to be one of many reasons for their
continued existence, in spite of the removal of overt forms of discrimination and
racism. Only one of the Boulé respondents, David, did not explicitly state that his
reason for joining Boulé was in order to escape from everyday life interactions or
be in a fraternity of “like-minded black men.” Owing to the slightly different
purpose of Links, as has been discussed, two links stated that one of their reasons
36
The “black utility heuristic” is a term that Dawson (1994) uses in his book Behind the Mule:
Race and Class in African-American Politics. Dawson argues that the heuristic explains the
finding that perceptions of racial group interests often supersede conceptions of class interests
among high-SES blacks. In other words, he finds that many of these blacks maintain ideological
(and perhaps, emotional) connections to other blacks who are not of their same class.
96
for joining Links was in order to contribute to service in some sort of way. Still,
all links, except Patricia, expressed some sort of longing for a connection with
other black women as very important. Even Mary, whose friends are mostly
white, stated: “I do think it’s important to have ties with the black community and
people who have things in common with you.”
Most respondents expressed a feeling of unease around whites in certain,
though not all, environmental contexts. Regarding these feelings, Karen said:
I think a lot of times we’re forced to assimilate. I don’t think whites often feel the
necessity to understand minority populations because they are the majority […] whereas
most of my close friends are African-Americans. I mean, I have different friends across
different racial groups. But, they [whites] often feel the need to have to be more diverse
and sometimes, I think I get a little annoyed because we’re always having to enlighten
them […] We shouldn’t always have to be doing that in this day and age.
While these high-SES blacks have a good number of non-black friends and co-
workers with whom they are able to interact in professional and social settings,
these blacks overwhelmingly maintain a certain unease – or perhaps, annoyance.
All respondents who worked in majority-white environments felt completely (or
at the least, moderately) comfortable in their work environments; yet, the unease
and discomfort came about in social settings and interactions, as Karen stated
above. Lisa more expressly mentioned this difference between work and social
space. She stated:
I’m able to bridge both [the white and black communities], because I’ve been all my life
exposed to both. [Yet,] I’m not really interacting on a social basis. Now on a work basis,
I can work with just about anybody. I can have the one-on-one conversations. But in that
big party room, it’s a different story. Even when I go to, like, the upscale fundraisers, I’m
still talking primarily to black people, not white.
All the respondents, except Kimberly and Mary who have a good number of close
friends of different races, saw their relationships with other high-SES blacks as
more intimate and those with whites as either removed or based on a need to
97
network and advance their professional interests. Nevertheless, every respondent
insisted he or she had no animus toward or disregard for any race, ethnicity or
cultural group of people.
From this initial analysis of the respondents, the ambiguous separation and
distance that tends to characterize many of the social and professional interactions
of these high-SES blacks can be seen. Even though these blacks are active
members of their city and community, the majority still seek black counterpublic
spaces of social interaction either as an escape-valve or as a means to tie
themselves back to what they consider to be their community. Contrary to
Dawson’s predictions, the black counterpublic space (though it may not be
flourishing) still has a basis for existence.
Protest and Politics: The Non-Electoral and Electoral Political Participation of
Archons and Links
In chapters 4 and 5, I found that elite black social organizations in general
have an effect on the traditional conception of political participation. Further, I
found that when the organizations are separated, Boulé’s effect remains, while
Links’ no longer exists. With regard to the electoral and non-electoral dichotomy,
Boulé members are more active in electoral politics, while Links members are
more active in non-electoral politics. In this section, I look to see if these trends
are reflected in the in-depth interview data.
First, I look at the archons. It appears that the qualitative evidence mirrors
the quantitative results. All of the men, except for John, consider themselves to be
very active in the traditional political process. John’s lack of activity, though, is
98
relative. John votes in elections, donates to campaigns, and engages in other less-
involved political activities. However, he notes that he does not “become involved
in the day-to-day activities of the political process, such as handing out leaflets.”
The other archons, who describe themselves as very active, mention
electoral political activities more often than they mention non-electoral activities.
Regarding the electoral political process, the five other archons express cognitive
engagement with politics, expressing high levels of interest in and attentiveness
toward politics. Mark commented, as he laughed:
[I do it] all! Donate, go to fundraisers, help host fundraisers, stay abreast of the
candidates, whether it’s you know through the internet – I get these CNN and New York
Times updates that I follow. I probably watch CNN at night quite a bit. My four year old
son watches it right now [laughing …]
The men’s engagement in the electoral political process is so in-depth that at least
half of the men mentioned donating to or supporting Republicans/conservatives. I
argue that this (mostly weak) support of conservatism is evidence that these men
are highly engaged in the electoral political process because voting along one’s
economic, personal or social well-being (which these men define as reasons they
entertain conservative ideologies) goes against the group-based mentality that is
characterized by the black utility heuristic. Of his political ideology, Richard
noted:
I donate always to political campaigns – on the Right and on the Left. I participate. I
volunteer services locally and nationally. There’s never been a time when I haven’t
voted, and, uh, like I said, I vote Republican as well as Democrat.
Like Richard, David expressed conservative viewpoints. He remarked that while
he was intrigued by the possibility of Barack Obama being elected the first black
president, he was wary because “It’s going to hurt me if in fact his thought
99
process is advanced. I’m not a tax and spend guy […] I actually vote on what is
[in] the best interest of myself.” These men are very active in electoral politics,
whether through volunteering in campaigns, voting, hosting fundraisers or paying
attention to the political climate.
The non-electoral participation of these men is mentioned, but not to the
same extent as their electoral involvements. While Michael suggested that he was
active in electoral politics because “I think the government can be used to really
solve many social problems,” he also commented that “I think that the
government tends to mess up. The unintended consequences of government
programs are great.” Michael’s alternative is “community involvement.”
Ironically, however, Michael did not believe that the social action programs in
Boulé should be part of the organization – despite his strong commitment to
community action. He suggested that Boulé was meant to be exclusively fraternal.
He stated: “I didn’t come to Boulé for social action; I do social action outside of
Boulé.” Michael’s participation regarding non-electoral politics reveals that while
these men may vocally support non-electoral engagement, many of them may not
take the requisite action to make such participation a reality, at least not in the
organizational context.
Yet, the organization appears to be changing. As noted in chapter 2, Boulé
has increasingly become an organization that involves itself with community
action through its foundation and other charitable works. John, who served in
several leadership roles in Chi Boulé, was one of the main members pushing the
organization toward a greater level of “social action.” However, John provided
100
few specifics on the types of social action he initiated. Further, even if John had
succeeded in encouraging his fellow archons to engage in some sort of social
action, a few of the men may have resisted. At least two of the men interviewed
expressed the preference they had for maintaining a strong fraternal and social
element to the organization – as if social action and fraternalism were a zero-sum
tradeoff. The evident debate (or as Michael calls it, “battle”) that has occurred
internally among these men regarding social action reveals three things. First,
these men debate and talk about the necessity of organizing outside of the
political process through forms of non-electoral politics. Second, many of them
do engage in it – either as a collective or as individuals. And third, the archons
like Michael, who resist the change, appear to be increasingly outnumbered by
archons like William and John who see the organization as a space for
fraternalism and service.
Now, I turn to the links. The qualitative data of these women also
confirms the quantitative results. These women are more involved in non-
electoral politics than in the electoral political process. First, unlike the men, none
of the women in Links expressed conservative viewpoints. From this initial
characteristic, one can infer that their involvement in electoral politics is not as
entrenched relative to their non-electoral involvement. Their electoral
considerations are at least partially affected by a feeling of commitment to causes
outside of their high household incomes and social statuses. This finding suggests
that the women may be engaged in more outsider processes than insider ones, like
voting and campaign activity.
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The actual comments of these links reveal that they do engage in electoral
politics, but not as actively as archons and not necessarily any more than other
similarly-situated women (which explains why membership in Links is not a
significant predictor of electoral participation). Like the men, all the women
express that they vote regularly and pay attention to some aspect of politics. Many
women recount their political involvement with a sense of racial or historical
obligation/duty. For example, Lisa stated: “I’ve always voted, because I think
that’s a right that we’ve been given and the only way that you can have any voice
is if you put your voice out there.” Lisa also participates in campaigns (though
this involvement is not explicitly racialized). In addition to Lisa, Karen also
racializes her involvement. Asked about how important being involved in the
political process is to her, she declared: “There was a hard fight to get a right to
vote, so why throw away that fight and not do it?” Like Lisa and Karen, Mary
also talked about her “civic duty.”
Turning to non-electoral politics, the women in Links are quite active. The
most obvious difference in non-electoral politics between archons and links is
with regard to community service and social engagement. When asked about their
participatory behavior in these realms, every link, except Kimberly, made a
reference to the Links as an important avenue through which they engage in
community service or learn methods and techniques that help them to be more
service-oriented in their other endeavors. In contrast, none of the archons made
the association between service and Boulé when asked about their participation in
community service. In addition to this association, links are more engaged in
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community-institution building; the majority of the respondents are more
expressive about these engagements than they are about political engagements
(with the exception of Lisa). For example, Mary spoke of her involvements with
charity outside of Links, including her management of enrichment programs for
“the working poor.” Karen spoke of how she uses her medical career to serve
others by “educating the community about cancers like breast cancer […]
educating the public about their health.” One notable thing about these women’s
involvement is that a good amount of it takes place outside of Links. While the
organization commits these women to get involved in Links-related programs, the
organization has a galvanizing effect, making women more involved in non-Links
community engagement.
While the links mention many forms of non-electoral political
participation, they do fail to mention others. For example, none mentioned taking
part in rallies or marches – and neither did the men. Admittedly, I did not ask an
explicit question about this form of engagement; however, the fact that such
participation never came up in any of the interviews suggests that it is not an
important feature of these women’s civic or political lives. But, the women do
talk about other non-electoral forms of participation without direct prompting. For
most of the links, this commitment to non-electoral participation begins as
something intangible, such as a philosophy toward non-electoral participation.
This intangible support of civic engagement has been noted above, but another
example is Karen’s answer to “how important is being active in the political
process to you?” After recounting a story about one of her friends who refused to
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vote, she moved from talking about electoral politics to talking about non-
electoral politics by stating:
I guess we all have some kind of civic responsibility. And so, even though sometimes we
have problems that seem insurmountable […] everybody should just do their little part to
help the community […] I think a lot of times we get too focused on I, I, I, me, me, me,
you know. I think that if you are blessed enough to have something, you need to give
something back.
Like Karen, Patricia also thinks often about non-electoral influence. Because she
is a publisher, she commented about her ability to “do a little influencing because
I have the ink.” While much of her work through publishing may come from and
affect non-electoral politics, it also has an internal effect on electoral politics.
Remembering a moment during Barack Obama’s campaign for the Democratic
primary, she commented:
I try to write positive things about black politics […] and even when the Tennessee
Republicans attacked Michelle, I did front page on it. I attacked the Republicans and put
the white woman who’s their chair on front page. And if they come back again, then I’ll
probably come back nasty.
In addition to these less tangible non-electoral involvements, individual links also
note their engagement in black advancement organizations and networks to a
greater extent than the archons.
Causal Inference: Qualitative Evidence of the CVM’s Participatory Factors
In order to see whether or not a direction of causality is suggested by the
qualitative data, I analyze three participatory factors that the CVM predicts to be
reasons why mainstream voluntary organizations heighten the levels of
participation of their membership. These three factors are civic skills, political
interest and political recruitment/ networking. While other factors may go into the
reasons why high-SES blacks in elite black social organizations participate in
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different types of political processes, the participatory factors in the CVM would
most likely be included alongside these mechanisms that encourage participation.
If CVM’s factors are not present in the organizational contexts of Links and
Boulé, then there is little basis (other than theoretical evidence) for believing the
flow of causality runs from membership to participation.
I begin with the first factor: civic skills. For archons, the accrual of civic
skills from membership in Boulé appears to be rather strongly suggested by the
qualitative data. The archons have all gained skills from being involved in the
organization. Four of the six men have held at least one leadership position in the
organization. Through their leadership, they have been able perfect their
persuasion skills in healthy debates at monthly meetings, perfect their leadership
skills in comporting Chi Boulé to the new social action mission of the larger
organization (William and John made explicit mention of this), and perfect their
networking skills as they meet and socialize with fellow archons at the bi-annual
Grand Boulé. While these men often come to the organization as successful
individuals in their own right, their membership in the organization keeps them
sharp and informed, as evidenced by the political debates among many of the men
(described later) and the general debate among the archons about the direction of
the organization. The social space enables these men to be active and re-define
their thoughts and actions.
For links, the presence of civic skill accrual is even stronger. Members
gain skills through their many community involvements, which are a direct result
of Links membership. Kimberly noted that she had helped to spearhead a micro-
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loan program through the Links that will provide loans to individuals in
Mozambique, Nigeria and the Caribbean. Although it may appear that Kimberly
brought this skill-set to Links, instead of garnering it from Links, Kimberly
remarked that she would not have been able to do this without being a link.
Kimberly stated that through her work on this and other projects, she gained
skills:
I’ve always shied away from fundraising and, as a result of Links, I jumped right in the
middle of it. So, I’ve developed my skills at financial development. […] It [Links] has
improved my approach to dealing with the money needs.
Like Kimberly, Karen also revealed that because of Links, she was able to gain
the opportunity to engage in other types of civic participation besides medical-
related activities. The skills these links accrue are also directly applicable to the
electoral political process, as evidenced by Lisa’s willingness to help her friend as
the treasurer of a campaign and her comment that “Links has helped give me an
area to show leadership.” Dealing with finances in Links most likely strengthened
her ability to be an effective participant. The more rigorous involvements of the
organization require the links to gain and sharpen a good number of skills.
The second factor, political interest, has an ambiguous relationship to the
organizations. Sigma Pi Phi increases members’ interest in politics to a far greater
extent than Links does. The debate over social action in the Boulé (to which John,
Michael, William and Richard all alluded at least once) appears to be a major part
of the organization’s socialization of political interest. The archons, even those
who disagree, have been told from the national Boulé that social action has to
become a serious part of their fraternity. This socialization, while it may not bring
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about actual participation, certainly encourages interest in non-electoral forms of
participation, community service, institution-building and participation in
marches. With regard to electoral politics, there is no institutional socialization
mechanism that brings about interest; however, the nature of the interactions
among the men has the effect of increasing electoral political interest. Regarding
the reason he enjoys Boulé meetings, Michael recalled:
Politically, I don’t get into many discussions about politics around whites or blacks […
But,] I do it in Boulé sometimes, because there’s one particular member of the Boulé that
I enjoy discussion with. That’s [Harry]. [Harry] is very liberal and I’m conservative. We
have a great time challenging each other, and it causes me to think.
For Michael and Harry, Boulé appears to provide a safe space for discussions of
politics and political ideology. The same goes for the other men. During the 2008
presidential election, at least one of the monthly meeting topics regarded the
democratic primary. In this meeting (as one respondent covertly recounted so as
not to break any fraternal obligations to privacy), archons debated back and forth
regarding the merits of an Obama presidency. Both the electoral and non-electoral
political behaviors of members are affected by the organization.
Within Links political interest does not run as strong. The members appear
to be socialized towards engagement to a certain extent, but not nearly as much as
members of Boulé. Unlike Boulé, Links is not as secretive or exclusive. In that
sense, the affinity that links have toward one another may not be strong enough to
provide as robust a site for socialization. In fact, some divisive elements were
noted, especially by Patricia. Her story, recounted in the beginning of this chapter,
shows that the women may have tension based upon skin color or professional
differences (since some women are homemakers). The other respondents, though,
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do not mention these tensions. Only Kimberly made a slight remark at the end of
her interview that may have suggested tension. She stated that to work “with a
group of African-American women is a real treat and opportunity – most days
[laughing].” Overall, it appears that the relationship among these women is
simply not as close as it is for the men in Boulé who are fewer and engage in a
greater number of social activities. Nevertheless, the women are socialized to
some extent. Mary noted that Links provides “a venue for social interaction,
otherwise known as sisterhood. And through that sisterhood to bond through acts
of good work for others.” Through their regular facet meetings and hours of
service, links interact in a more formal manner that aids to bring about some sense
of political interest, particularly in the non-electoral political arena. Lisa
commented that being a link can have the effect of strengthening one’s belief in
her own power to affect change. Lisa asserted:
And, the power in a Links chapter is amazing. If they use the power. And that’s the key.
We have to use the power that we have. And oftentimes, black women don’t realize that
they have much power. Black men do if they’re at that level. But black women,
particularly if they’re the wife-of, they don’t view that power in themselves. But they
really have the power.
As Lisa noted, the key is recognizing that power. The activities and interactions of
these women most likely produce some sort of recognition of it. While this
mechanism may not be as strong for links, it is hard to believe that political
interest is not at least moderately increased by interacting among a group of
professional, active women who share several demographic characteristics in
common.
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The final factor is political recruitment. For archons, this factor is
ambiguous; for links, it is stronger. At first glance, it appears that Boulé does not
facilitate this role for these men. The archons view themselves as men who have
already achieved. When asked if the organization had opened any doors for them
in their “personal, social or professional” lives, all of the men, except for Mark,
responded with a quick “no” – almost as if that sort of networking were out of the
question in such an elite organization. But Mark, the youngest respondent,
responded with a more complicated answer:
Ummm, that’s a good question. You know, I think that – a lot of guys I have already
known – either through 100 Black Men [a black advancement organization] or other
things that I’m involved in. Um, but I think, you know, it’s a fraternity also, so I think
people tend to look at you differently as far as their relationship with you no matter how
good your relationship was already. You know, when you become part of it, you bond
with people differently when you have that kind of affiliation. So, from a social scenario,
yes. From a professional relationship, that’s not a scenario where it’s benefited my
business. Again, just being able to watch those guys and see how they operate and think
and those types of things I think has been beneficial to me.
Perhaps because of his age, Mark feels he has learned more from these men than
they feel they have learned from one another. But even William, who is much
older, stated that he has learned from the other archons. Commenting on the
intellectual and professional diversity of the men, he said, “You are there with
people who have different expertise, you can learn from them. And so, I learn
from people who are members of Sigma Pi Phi.” Perhaps, then, the other men
interpreted the question to be asking if Boulé had helped provide them an
advantage with regard to status or wealth (the term “open doors” most likely
primed this reaction). Alternatively, Mark and William are simply more attuned to
something that the other men simply take for granted. Then again, it could be that
these men have genuinely received no networking or recruitment benefits from
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being members. Still, it would be rational to assume that a close connection with
other individuals would aid in recruitment (asking one to attend a rally, or help
out on a fundraising campaign, etc.) and in networking (meeting other archons
who are influential on certain boards or in certain civic organizations).37
For links, this final factor appears to be stronger among them than it is
among archons. Links answered in a slightly different manner than the archons
with regard to the question of whether or not Links opened any doors in their
social, personal or professional lives; many fewer women answered in the
negative. Three of the five women answered in the positive. Lisa is one of the
women who answered positively. Her response reveals the way in which Links
enables women to network, build a system of support and gain social resources.
She stated:
If I move anywhere in the country, it [Links] gives you immediate access to the affluent
clique in that community. You know, every community has an affluent black population
and the key is, how do you get in it? And the Links organization […] is one of those that
gives immediate access. It gives you an immediate opportunity to show what you have
and to make a difference. And so for me, if you take advantage of it, it’s wonderful.
Lisa’s comments reveal that being a link enables one to be influential in the
community. This influence makes it easier to be involved in community-building
institutions, take part in protests and rallies, participate in fundraisers and meet
influential politicians and other public servants. Further, and perhaps more
relevantly, being in that “clique” results in recruitment for these different
37
It could be argued that the recruitment and networking of this organization is what pulled these
men into the organization in the first place. However, this is unlikely. First, the type of networking
and recruitment is one of close affiliation, which as Mark noted, comes about from a fraternal
relationship. Second, Boulé is secretive and does not recruit members or network in order to find
members. Rather, future archons are selected through careful choice and debate; not through
ordinary networking or recruiting mechanisms.
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involvements. Kimberly and Mary shared similar comments. The recruitment
mechanism attached to being involved in Links – whether directly through
another link or through the circles of friendship that result from being a link – is
clear.
Evidence of Other Causal Directions?
Although the in-depth interviews provide data largely supporting the
hypothesized causal direction, it also provides some evidence of other causal
flows. Below, I re-state the two alternative causal theories described in chapter 3,
presenting evidence that either suggests or rejects these possible directions of
causality. While some suggestive evidence exists, it is underwhelming. Further,
the evidence pales in comparison to the weight of evidence provided above
(regarding the participatory factors) and the theoretical evidence from both past
empirical studies and the nature of these organizations.
The first alternative causal theory is that people are chosen to join the
organizations because the members who selected them have engaged with them or
met them through political and/or social networks. This causal flow suggests that
it is participation in these political and social networks (which could contain both
electoral and non-electoral forms of participation) that brings about membership,
not the reverse. Under this theory, those who are approached to become members
are already active participants in social and political processes, explaining the
correlation observed.
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This first alternative theory, while unlikely for both, is more likely with
regard to Boulé than it is with regard to Links. The archons of Sigma Pi Phi are all
men who have succeeded to some degree in their professional careers, and the
main selection criterion for this organization is success – whether personal,
professional or social. As William characterized it, Boulé is the “end game” –
archons are in the organization because of their past achievement. This past
achievement would suggest that the men are known for their achievement in
social and/or political networks. The evidence appears to give this alternative
theory some validity, as many of the men, especially Mark, noted having known
archons through other organizations, especially black advancement organizations.
Nevertheless, one of the main criteria for membership is excellence in
professional endeavors, such as business, medicine or law. When the members
select to invite new individuals into the group, they often know them for their
renown as exemplars in their profession, not through political and social
networks. Further, even if these men are selected because of recruitment through
political/social networks, their membership in Boulé has made them even more
engaged than they would have been. The evidence presented in the previous
section has shown that both civic skills and political interest are heightened by
membership in the organization. As Mark noted, even though he knew the men
through other social networks before joining, it was through the bonding
experience of Boulé that he was able to learn from and imitate the other archons.
For Boulé, the first alternative causal theory appears to have a slight reverse
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causal effect; however, the greater effect is the originally hypothesized flow that
membership brings about participation.
For the Links, the first alternative causal theory is even weaker. The
women are just as successful as the men of Boulé; however, the selection process
differs between the two organizations. Links does not require that the women
have attained a bachelors degree (though most have) and it is not as selective as
Boulé (as evidenced by the greater number of members and the existence of four
chapters of Links in the Nashville area). As Patricia noted in her in-depth
interview, the selection of these women may also be susceptible to superficial
arguments about skin color and social status. Given this evidence, the link
between selection as a member and political networks is much weaker in Links.
Personal social networks, such as friendship, are much more likely. Lisa noted
that her mother was the main reason she was selected as a link. Lisa frankly
stated: “Links, I got into very early, because my mother was a link. I’m a
daughter.” Because personal social networks have arguably much less relation to
political participation than do institutionalized social networks through
organizations and associations, the notion that these women are selected for their
involvement is much weaker. Further, as with Boulé, the participatory factors are
much stronger. For Links, the participatory factors of civic skills and political
recruitment explain much more of the relationship between membership and
participation.
The second causal alternative, which is a type of self-selection, is that
there is an external variable that explains the relationship between membership
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and participation. In this theory, this third variable would have a positive, causal
relationship with both membership and participation. For example, it is possible
that a love for active engagement in the political process causes both membership
in these elite black social organizations and also participation in the political
process. While this theory is more difficult to resolve absent a controlled
experiment, the evidence here does not suggest (especially for Boulé) that this
third variable is the causal mechanism behind the relationship between
membership and participation. First, these organizations are social organizations.
People join largely for social bonding, not to become more involved in either the
electoral or non-electoral processes.38
Second, I have controlled for several
potential lurking and confounding variables in my regression analyses in chapters
4 and 5. The possible external variables such as activity in other organizations,
income, education, working status etc. have been removed from the relationship
exhibited between membership and participation.
To more effectively reveal the lack of evidence in support of this final
causal alternative, I first look to Boulé. It is doubtful that these men joined the
organization because of their political activity, or other third factors that relate to
38
In Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (1995), Verba et al. make the
claim that an analysis of organization affect on political participation is best carried out by
focusing on organizations that do not take political stands. This is necessary in order to legitimize
the claim that any correlation between political participation and organizational membership flows
from the organization to participation and not in the reverse direction. As Verba et al. note, “Even
decisions about adult institutional involvements – the nature, direction, and extent of commitment
to the workplace, religious institutions, or non-political organizations – would seem to be largely
independent of political inclinations. They do not derive from voluntary political activity or, even,
from anticipation of voluntary political activity.” In my analysis, I highlight two social (and
expressly non-political) organizations in order to maintain the legitimacy of a suggestion of
causality.
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political activity. Moreover, it is certain that they did not join in order to become
active in the non-electoral political process of community involvement, for the
outside perception of Sigma Pi Phi is one of an elitist group of men. John and
Richard both noted that they had this perception of Boulé before joining. Richard
commented:
I really didn’t think of becoming a member of the Boulé […] the point is, I thought it was
more elitist than what it actually is. And I mean that in somewhat of a derogatory term.
And when I did get to meet some of the guys who were in, I think it was a wise decision
to do it. […] My thoughts about it at first were that it was a bunch of – well, I’ll just say
elitist.
This viewpoint on the organization suggests that people do not enter in order to
become socialized in electoral political interest, access networks of political
recruitment or even engage in non-electoral activity. The men join because of
excitement in having been selected and because of the social prestige that comes
with such an honor – neither of these reasons has any logical relationship to
participation.
For Links, there is more credibility in the second alternative causal theory.
Because Links encourages its members to engage in service to a more effective
degree than Boulé, the service of the organization is, perhaps, part of its draw.
Because activity in community building and service is part of the index of non-
electoral participation, the observed relationship between non-electoral
participation and membership could be derived from a third variable – interest in
service. While two of the women interviewed did mention service as one of their
greater motivators in accepting the invitation to join Links, most did not. Three
described “sisterhood” and the desire to bond with other similarly-situated women
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as the primary motivator; even the other two described this bonding as a major
motivator (among others). In fact, Lisa commented that this finding is far from
unusual, for many women are in the organization for reasons completely unrelated
to service. She stated, “Our chapter has a lot of, we have some wife-of types
[women who are wives of successful men]. But actually, a lot of them are not […]
For some, they’re just in the organization for the prestige it brings.” Patricia, more
explicitly noted that her own interest in Links had nothing to do with service. She
stated:
[…] I saw no service that they did. You know I thought it was just the title to say you’re a
link. And I mean, they had a few programs, but I guess I just wanted to say that I was a
link. And that’s the truth.
Further complicating this alternative theory of causality is the fact that an interest
in service alone cannot explain the dependent variable either. The dependent
variable (non-electoral participation) includes more than just service. It also
includes writing a letter to a politician, participating in a rally/protest and activity
in a black advancement. Thus, an interest in service is insufficient as a third
variable for explaining membership and non-electoral participation. As in Boulé,
other potential external variables, besides those that have already been controlled,
are unlikely to affect both propensity to join and propensity to participate
politically.
Piecing together much of what this study has revealed, Figures 6.1 and 6.2
show a summary of the correlational relationships found in chapters 4 and 5,
coupled with the causal relationships suggested through the analyses in this
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chapter. These two Figures focus on Links and Boulé.39
They are concerned with
the relationship between these organizations and the three modes of participation
studied (non-electoral, electoral and traditional); they are unconcerned with other
explanatory variables of participation unless they also relate to membership in the
organizations. The central focus of these models is describing the effects of the
organizational context, not necessarily outlining all of the factors that contribute
to participation. As such, I do not include the control variables in these path
models. Even if the variables are confounding, I already controlled for them and
still found a direct relationship between membership and certain forms of
participation.
I begin with Figure 6.1, which shows the path model for Links, for this
model is slightly more complicated than the Boulé model. This model shows the
avenue through which women become links and how that membership affects
their non-electoral participation. Women are invited into Links through personal,
familial and social friendship networks. The reason there is no connection
between these networks and participation in the path model is because these
networks (based upon membership in the church, non-racial organizations, etc.)
have already been controlled for in the regression analysis; any friendship
39
I do not include a path model for elite black social organizations in general. I do not include the
finding from chapter 4 regarding elite black organizations as a whole, because the causal
mechanisms regarding them cannot be fully determined from the in-depth interviews provided in
this chapter. The members talk about their specific organizations, not elite black social
organizations in general. Nevertheless, the interviews, coupled with the theoretical evidence
provided in chapter 3, provide a strong suggestion that causality for most elite black social
organizations runs from membership to participation – perhaps (as is the case of Boulé and Links)
for slightly different reasons.
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FIGURE 6.1
Path Model of the Effects of Links Membership on Participation.
NOTE: The solid arrows represent relationships that are compellingly suggested from an assessment of both
the quantitative evidence presented in chapters 4 and 5 and the qualitative evidence presented here. The
dotted arrows are those that are either inconclusive (or ambiguous). The participatory factors that are
bracketed are similar in this regard; they are the factors that cannot be definitively said to be mechanisms
involved in the relationship between membership and each form of participation.
networks that were not controlled for most likely have little relationship to
participation. As mentioned earlier, women ultimately accept an invitation to join
the Links for several reasons. The main reasons that women join the organization
are: racial exclusion, social bonding and the accrual of social status. These
reasons are supported by literature on the organization and the interviews of the
members. In addition, interest in service has a potential effect (note: it is denoted
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by a dotted line in the figure because its effect is inconclusive) on explaining why
women join. While the effect is inconclusive with regard to reasons for joining, it
is certain that an interest in serving affects non-electoral participation (even if
only to a small degree). As such, it is a potential confounding variable. However,
as mentioned earlier, only some women (to varying extents; some more than
others) expressed that they joined because of an interest in service, so the
evidence is ambiguous and inconclusive. Further, even if the variable is
confounding, the participatory mechanisms (political recruitment, civic skills and
perhaps group consciousness) have been shown to be rather strong within the
organizational context. The strength of these factors suggests that if interest in
service could be controlled, the effect of Links membership would still be
significant. This notion is strengthened by the fact that, theoretically, interest in
service only affects half of the acts within the index of non-electoral participation.
The other half of the index (the acts of rallying and writing a letter) has no
discernible relationship to an interest in service.
For Boulé, Figure 6.2 depicts the path model that the evidence suggests
explains the relationship between membership and political participation. Men
join Boulé for the same reasons as women (racial exclusion, social bonding and
status), absent any desire for or interest in service. The men may be interested in
service individually, as many are; however, that interest is not a motivation for
joining. For Boulé, the invitation is extended to potential archons through slightly
different networks than in Links. Potential members are known (personally and
impersonally) by the archons through social, as well as, professional networks.
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FIGURE 6.2
Path Model of the Effects of Boulé Membership on Participation.
NOTE: The solid arrows represent relationships that are compellingly suggested from an assessment of both
the quantitative evidence presented in chapters 4 and 5 and the qualitative evidence presented here. The
dotted arrows are those that are either inconclusive (or ambiguous). The participatory factors that are
bracketed are similar in this regard; they are the factors that cannot be definitively said to be mechanisms
involved in the relationship between membership and each form of participation.
The relationship between these men’s networks and the two forms of participation
with which Boulé is correlated is inconclusive in the context of Boulé
membership. Because social/professional networks, like non-racial organizations
and black advancement organizations, have been controlled, a good number of
these networks are irrelevant to the path model in explaining traditional and
electoral participation. Some networks, like professional associations and the like
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are still relevant – as they may have an effect on political participation. However,
such organizations most likely do not have much of an effect on the invitation to
join, for these men are not co-workers and vary greatly in their professions. In
short, the professional/social networks (like 100 Black Men and other black
advancement organizations) that members mention as potential networks for
recruiting future archons have been taken into account in chapters 4 and 5.
Overall, for both Links and Boulé, it appears that the causal direction from
membership to participation through the participatory factors described in the
previous section explains the relationship between membership and participation
to the greatest extent. The civic skills, political interest and political recruitment
gained through these organizations are quite impactful.
Conclusion
Archons and links are individuals aware of their class status, but deeply
concerned about issues of black advancement; they are professionals
uncomfortable, at times, in their majority-white environmental contexts, but
aware of their ability to affect the political process. Despite the similarities
between the two social organizations’ members, this chapter has confirmed the
findings from chapter 5: Boulé and Links produce quite different involvements in
the political process among their members as compared to other men and women.
In addition, the mechanisms that bring about these modes of participation vary.
For archons, civic skills and political interest garnered from membership are the
main determinants of bringing about their electoral and (minor) non-electoral
121
political engagement. For those in Links, political recruitment and civic skills are
the main explanatory mechanisms for their active non-electoral participation. The
major finding from this chapter, though, may not be the specific mechanisms;
reather, the main finding may be that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that
the relationship between membership and participation – for both organizations –
appears to be causal and in the expected direction of causality.
FIGURE 6.3
Figure 6.1: Pictured from left to right are the former Presidential candidate Barack Obama,
Archousa Lisa Grain and Archon David Grain of Sarasota’s Gamma Xi Boulé. This photograph
shows Archon David Grain, the host, speaking with Obama at a private campaign fundraiser
hosted at the Grain’s “Mediterranean-style Sarasota bayfront home on Bird Key.” November 5,
2007 (The Boulé Journal 2008).
122
FIGURE 6.4
Figure 6.4: As part of the Links International Trends and Services program, the
organization has built over 50 schools in South Africa. A group of 112 links
visited 6 of these schools in 2008. A few of the links from this visit are pictured
in the background as they listen to a musical performance by South African
school children. (Links 2009b).
123
CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION
Archon Percy Julian’s 1964 reference to the men of Boulé as “faultless
prophets” – men who are brilliant, learned and successful, yet intent on distancing
themselves from the black masses and mainstream society – was a satirical
criticism of not only Sigma Pi Phi, but also elite black social organizations in
general. Archons, as well as links, were indicted in Julian’s strong condemnation
of those elitist elements of the black community that he believed were sitting on
the sidelines of the struggle for black inclusion and equality in the American
polity. While most studies of such organizations have treated them as if they are
static, suspended in a timeless era of the early to middle twentieth century, this
study has found that these organizations have evolved, altered their missions and
attempted to socialize their members to the importance of both protest and politics
in the struggle for black advancement and political participation. Both Boulé and
Links have succeeded – to an extent.
124
As a result of their membership in Sigma Pi Phi, archons are more likely
than other similarly-situated black men to participate in the electoral political
process and engage in traditional forms of political participation. Links
membership, on the other hand, brings about a greater engagement in the non-
electoral political process. Not only do these findings reveal that these
organizations bring about elite black participation in mainstream politics (a major
worry of Bayard Rustin), but also these findings show that protest politics is not
dead. This form of external engagement still has a place in black politics and,
more surprisingly, among the black upper class.
As a whole, elite organizations provide the civic skills, political interest
and bases for social recruitment for well-off black Americans who still experience
the slights of institutional and interpersonal racism. Through these mechanisms,
their members are able to participate more actively in black community
betterment and in mainstream electoral and non-electoral civic engagement to
varying degrees. While it is unclear whether or not these organizations bring
about greater political group consciousness in their members, the qualitative data
implies that they take already racially-conscious individuals (who believe in the
need for black advancement) and provide them the tools, resources and black
counterpublic space to collectively and individually engage in the political
process more effectively.
These findings have several implications, both theoretical and practical.
This work has served as a revisionist look at several assumptions regarding
general voluntary organizations, black elites, and the organizations of the black
125
elite. The CVM has been shown to be too broad both in its measure of
membership and also in its measure of what constitutes political participation.
Several other models of political behavior are quite similar to the CVM in that
they are also inattentive to black membership in organizations and to the
electoral/non-electoral participatory dichotomy. Despite these limitations, the
CVM has been revealed to be quite accurate in its discussion of participatory
factors. These factors, by and large, are the main mechanisms through which
members of elite black social organization participate. Regarding theories of high-
SES blacks, this thesis has revealed that these blacks not only believe they have
obligations to other blacks, but those who are the most elite (highest education
and income levels) are the most likely to participate in black organizations.
Further, their exclusive organizations are not simply mainstays for the “snobbish”
and “aloof.” These organizations, especially Links, are effective sites of
organization for black community betterment – to an even greater extent than
black advancement organizations, the church and mainstream civic organizations.
Finally, the theory that black elites serve as middle-men toward the white power
structure on behalf of underclass blacks (McClain 2008; Patillo 2007) is
supported by the findings regarding high-SES blacks in the NBES data. While I
did not test the extent to which membership in elite organizations increased an
individual’s likelihood to engage in mainstream institutions, the NBES data
analysis provided evidence that middle class blacks not only affect the political
process through membership in black organizations but also they influence it
126
through membership in mainstream community organizations, where theoretically
they interact amongst and bargain with whites.
As a final thought, it must be re-stated that these findings are limited.
While the evidence is suggestive and compelling (supported by both NBES data
and also responses from in-depth interviews), it is not incontrovertible. Future
research should take several steps to see if the evidence presented here holds.
First, a randomized, national survey of high-SES blacks should be taken and
should include measures of both political participation and also a wide array of
social/civic associations, particularly elite social organizations. A large, nationally
representative sample would permit a more definitive test of my hypotheses about
the participatory effects of organizational membership. Second, a broader
conception of political participation should be part of this survey. More forms of
black “protest,” including community organizing, neighborhood renewal projects
and community programs against inner-city violence, should be considered non-
electoral forms of participation. These engagements can have just as much of an
effect on the political process (whether by supplanting the need for government or
by increasing black efficacy) as electoral forms of participation. Third, this survey
should include items that directly measure the participatory factors (civic skills,
political interest and political recruitment) that contribute to political
participation. And finally, more complicated statistical and econometric analyses
should be undertaken in order to understand the direct effect of organizational
membership and provide a more rigorous quantitative assessment of the potential
directions of causality.
127
In spite of the limitations, this thesis uncovers the story of the two most
prominent elite black social organizations, their members and their participation.
The story of these organizations is complicated and, at times, contradictory. While
they are the reclusive stomping ground of well-off black Americans, these
associations are also spaces where men and women gain the skills, resources and
networks to be bold, effective leaders in the political process. The findings
presented here suggest that the continued growth of these organizations will have
repercussions on the political process and the content of black politics for years to
come.
128
APPENDIX A
TABLE 3.1 Descriptive Characteristics of NBES Group compared to those of NBISS Control Group.
NBES
High-SES
Group
N=55₁
NBISS
High-SES
Control
Group
N=9
Household Income (USD 1996) Household Income (USD 2007)
$50,000-$75,000 50.9% $80,000-$100,000 1 (12.5%)
$75,000-$90,000 21.8%
$90,000-$105,000 10.9%
$105,000 or greater 16.4% $100,000 or greater 7 (87.5%)
Education Education
Associates or Bachelors degree 65.4% Associates or College degree 2 (22.2%)
Graduate school or higher 34.6% Graduate school or higher 7 (77.8%)
Gender Gender
Male 47.3% Male 4 (44.4%)
Female 52.7% Female 5 (55.6%)
Age Age
41-50 63.6% 41-50 2 (22.2%)
51-60 27.3% 51-60 6 (66.7%)
61-70 9.1% 61-70 1 (11.1%)
Black Advancement Organization Black Advancement Organization
Yes, a member 69.1% Yes, a member 6 (66.7%)
Linked Fate Perceptions₂
Linked Fate Perceptions₂
A lot 29.1% A lot 3 (33.4%)
Some 52.7% A good amount 5 (55.6%)
Not very much 14.5% Not very much 1 (11%)
None 3.6% None at all 0 (0%)
Voting Behavior Voting Behavior
Did Vote (1996 Presidential) 92.7% Did Vote (2004 Presidential) 8 (100%)
Did Not Vote (1996 Presidential) 7.3% Did Not Vote (2004 Presidential) 0 (0%)
1: This number is the number of respondents from the NBES who have similar SES to the black respondents of the
NBISS (those in Boulé, those in Links and those who are friends of Boulé and Links members). The respondents had
to have attained at least an associates degree, have a yearly household income of at least $75,000 USD 1996 and be
between the ages of 41 and 70. The number of respondents from the NBES represented in this table are 4% of the
NBES respondents, of which there are 1,216.
2: This question was worded slightly differently within each study. NBES worded the question as: "Do you think
that what happens generally to Black people in this country will have something to do with what happens in your
life? " The NBES gave the respondents the opportunity to say "Yes" or "No." This most likely increased the "No"
answers, as respondents were not given the opportunity to realize that they could gradate their answers in a follow-up
question if they answered "Yes." The NBISS worded the question as exactly as NBES, but provided a gradated scale
immediately in one question.
129
TABLE 4.7
Three Measures of “High-SES”:
NBES Descriptive Data
High-SES
(Income and
Education)
High-SES
(Income)
High-SES
(Education)
Household Income (USD 1996
Up to $10,000 N/A N/A 1.61%
$10,000-$25,000 N/A N/A 14.52%
$25,000-$40,000 N/A N/A 19.35%
$40,000-$50,000 N/A N/A 20.16%
$50,000-$75,000 50.91% 58.16% 22.58%
$75,000-$90,000 21.82% 17.35% 9.68%
$90,000-$105,000 10.91% 13.27% 4.84%
$105,000 or greater 16.36% 11.22% 7.26%
Education
Some high school or less N/A 2.04% N/A
H.S. degree or some college N/A 41.84% N/A
Associates or Bachelors Degree 65.45% 36.73% 67.18%
Some graduate school or higher 34.55% 19.39% 32.82%
Black Advancement Organization
Yes, a member 69.09% 56.70% 60.77%
N = 55
N = 98
N = 131
130
TABLE 5.4
Predicting Group Political Consciousness:
NBISS Expanded Models for Each Dependent Variable
Blacks can
affect gov't
through
political action
Blacks should
work together
Importance of
giving back
to black
community
Blacks should
support black-
owned
businesses
Regression
Coefficient
(RSE)
Regression
Coefficient
(RSE)
Regression
Coefficient
(RSE)
Regression
Coefficient
(RSE)
Membership
(Boulé)
.42 (.26) - .04 (.06) -.04 (.18) .03 (.23)
Membership
(Links)
- .05 (.26) - .12 (.07) .16 (.38) .14 (.32)
* Significant at .1 level
** Significant at .05 level
*** Significant at .01 level
Note: The models control for household income, education, gender, black advancement organization
membership, non-racial organization membership, and church membership.
131
TABLE 5.5
NBISS Cross-Tabulations of Membership with Each Political Act (in numbers of
respondents)
Rally/
March
Letter to
Politician
Voter
Registration
or Other
Drive
Volunteer
in Political
Campaign
Donate to a
Campaign
Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
Member
(Boulé)
14 14 12 16 4 24 7 21 28 0
Non-Member
0 4 1 3 0 4 0 4 4 0
Member
(Links)
11 26 16 21 3 34 12 25 31 6
Non-Member
0 5 2 3 1 4 0 5 5 0
132
APPENDIX B
NATIONAL BLACK IDEOLOGY AND SOCIAL SURVEY QUESTIONS (PHASE 1 AND
PHASE 2 QUESTIONS INCLUDED)
(NBISS, 2008-2009) * The questions provided below include the majority of the survey questions asked, except those
that were completely inconsequential to this analysis. The coding of these variables is also
included, where appropriate. The variables that were placed into the indices of traditional
political participation, electoral political participation and non-electoral participation are
included below and denoted as such.
** The only difference in the phase 2 questions were (1) the question regarding age – as age was
not asked in Phase 1 (the members survey) and (2) the questions that were specific to Boulé/ Links
(e.g., “Please indicate how many years you have been a member of [Boulé or Links]) were also
not asked.
Question: Membership [this question was never asked explicitly because I mailed phase 1 surveys
to those whom I knew to be members and phase 2 surveys to those whom I knew to be non-
members]
__1__ Member of Boulé or Links
__0__ Not a member
Question: What is your gender?
__1__ Male
__0__ Female
Question: In which country were your parents born?
__1__ The United States
__0__ Other (please write in)
Question: What is the highest level of education you have attained?
__X__ No high school degree
__X__ high school degree or GED
__X__ some college
__0__ college degree or associates degree
__1__ graduate school or higher
Question: What was your household income in 2007?
__0__ Less than $40,000
__1__ $40,000-$60,000
__2__ $60,000-$80,000
__3__ $80,000-$100,000
__4__ $100,000 or greater
For questions X and Y, please think of your network of close friends. Think about the people you
interact with most, the people whose houses you go to often, the people whose children you have
seen grow up, etc.
Question X: How would you describe the racial composition of your network of close friends?
(un-coded)
____ Mostly White
____ Mostly Black
____ Mostly Another race
____ An even mixture of races
Question Y: How many close white friends do you have?
(un-coded)
____ A lot
____ A fair amount
____ Very few
133
Question: Were you a member of Jack and Jill as a child OR a father?
(un-coded)
____ Both
____ As a father
____ As a child
____ Neither
Question: Did you attend a historically black college or university (HBCU)?
(un-coded)
____ Did not attend college
____ YES
____ NO
Question: Are you a member of a national or local black advancement organization, like the
NAACP or National Urban League? [included in non-electoral index]
__1__ YES
__0__ NO
Question: Are you active in any civic or social organizations that are non-racial ?
__1__ YES
__0__ NO
Question : If you are, about how many of these non-racial organizations are you active in?
__0__ 0
__1__ 1-2
__2__ 3-4
__3__ 5-more
Question: How often do you attend church?
__0__ Never
__1__ A few times a year
__2__ Once a month
__3__ Once a week
__4__ More than once a week
Question: How would you describe the racial composition of your workplace?
(un-coded)
____ Do not work
____ Mostly White
____ Mostly Black
____ Mostly Another race
____ An even mixture of races
Question: How would you best describe the racial composition of your current neighborhood?
(un-coded)
____ Mostly White
____ Mostly Black
____ Mostly Another race
____ An even mixture of races
Question: How would you describe the racial composition of your high school?
(un-coded)
____ Mostly White
____ Mostly Black
____ Mostly Another race
____ An even mixture of races
For the next questions, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the
following statements.
Question: Blacks should support black-owned businesses.
__3__ Agree
__2__ Somewhat Agree
__1__ Somewhat Disagree
__0__ Disagree
134
Question: Blacks need to work together to advance the race.
__3__ Agree
__2__ Somewhat Agree
__1__ Somewhat Disagree
__0__ Disagree
Question: Poor blacks are poor because they are less motivated, not because of racism or other
factors.
__3__ Agree
__2__ Somewhat Agree
__1__ Somewhat Disagree
__0__ Disagree
Question: Black people can affect government through political action.
__3__ Agree
__2__ Somewhat Agree
__1__ Somewhat Disagree
__0__ Disagree
Question: You can affect government through political action.
__3__ Agree
__2__ Somewhat Agree
__1__ Somewhat Disagree
__0__ Disagree
Question: Poor blacks have the same access to government and politics that wealthy blacks have.
__3__ Agree
__2__ Somewhat Agree
__1__ Somewhat Disagree
__0__ Disagree
Question: Do you think that what happens generally to black people in this country will have
something to do with what happens in your life?
__3__ A lot
__2__ A good amount
__1__ Not very much
__0__ Nothing at all
Question: How important do you think it is to give back to the black community?
__3__ Very Important
__2__ Important
__1__ Somewhat Important
__0__ Not Important
Question: Do you perform community service? If so, about how often? [included in non-
electoral index]
__0__ Never
__1__ Once a year
__2__ Once a month
__3__ Once a week or more
Question: Many people do not vote because of time or ability. Did you vote in the 2004
presidential election?
__*__ Ineligible to vote
__1__ YES
__0__ NO
Question: Please place a check or an “X” next to all of the activities in which you have
participated in the past 5 years. If you have done none of these activities, please leave all choices
blank.
____ Participated in a rally [included in traditional and non-electoral indices]
____ Participated in a march [included in traditional and non-electoral indices]
____ Written a letter to your politician [included in traditional and non-electoral indices]
135
____ Organized a voter-registration drive or other political drive [included in traditional and
electoral indices] ____ Volunteered in a campaign [included in traditional and electoral indices]
____ Donated to a campaign or a politician [included in traditional and electoral indices]
Question: Do you consider yourself to be black first, then American or the other way around?
(un-coded)
____ I am American first, then black
____ I am black first, then American
Question: Do you consider yourself to be black first, then a woman, or the other way around?
(un-coded)
____ I am a woman first, then black
____ I am black first, then a woman
Question: Please place a check or an “X” next to all of the positions you have held/ activities you
have participated in as a member of Boulé.
(Boulé only)
____ Attend meetings/dinners regularly
____ Have chaired or currently chair a committee
____ Held or helped to plan a major social gathering
Question: Please place a check or an “X” next to all of the positions you have held/ activities you
have participated in as a member of Links.
(Links only)
____ A member of a facet or committee
____ Have put in volunteer time required
____ An elected officer
Question: Please indicate how many years you have been a member of Boulé/Links.
____ years
Question: What is your age range?
(Phase 2 only)
____ 18-30 years
____ 31-40 years
____ 41-50 years
____ 51-60 years
____ 61-70 years
____ greater than 71 years old
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
(NBISS, 2008-2009) * Below are all of the interview questions in full and in the order asked.
“Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview . . . In your answers to each question,
please answer as accurately and to the best of your ability as you can. I am going to read to you a
set of questions exactly as they are worded in order to maintain standardization between each
respondent. When you answer each question, try to be as accurate and precise as you possibly can.
Your accurate and complete opinions are very valuable. With that in mind, feel free to take as
much time as you need with each question. If at any point you have a question, please ask me.
Now, let’s begin.
First, I will ask you several short demographic questions.
DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS:
1. In what year were you born?:
2. How many years have you been a member of the Boulé/Links?:
136
3. What is your current profession?:
4. Have you had any other past professions?:
5. Please choose from the following choices regarding church attendance. How often do you
attend church: never, a few times a year, once a month, once a week, or more than once a week?:
6. Do you have a college degree or an associates degree?
7. Are you or were you a member of a historically black fraternity/sorority during or immediately
after college?:
8. Did you attend an HBCU?:
9. Are you a member of a national or local black advancement organization, such as the NAACP
or the National Urban League?:
10. How would you describe the racial composition of your neighborhood? Mostly white, Mostly
Black, Mostly Another Race or An even mixture of races?
11. How would you describe the racial composition of your workplace? Mostly white, Mostly
Black, Mostly Another Race or An even mixture of races?
12. And finally, do you partake in any activities outside of work that you find personally
meaningful?
Now, for the rest of the interview, I will ask you questions about your own opinions and behavior.
Please remember to be as accurate and thorough as possible. Also remember that your responses
are confidential.
SOCIAL/POLITICAL BEHAVIOR/ BELIEFS QUESTIONS:
1. Think about your network of close friends: the people you interact with most, the people whose
houses you go to often, etc.
What race are the majority of your close friends?
How would you describe the socio-economic background of the majority of your close
friends?
2. Do you find it hard to interact with any group of people, such as people of a different age,
profession, class, etc.? And if so, why?
3. As you stated above, the majority of your workplace is ________________. Has this fact
affected you in any way, negatively or positively?
Do you feel comfortable in your work environment and in interacting with your co-
workers?
Does your workplace have social gatherings? If so, do you partake in them? Why or why
not?
4. Outside of work, are you a part of any organizations or institutions that are not focused on black
issues particularly?
If so, why are you a part of these organizations? Have you learned anything or met any
interesting people through these organizations?
Did you join these organizations before or after you joined Boulé /Links?
5. Do you believe that most people can be trusted?
Why/Why not?
6. Many people don’t have time to participate in community service. What kind of involvement, if
any, do you have in community service?
What made you become active?
7. Many people don’t have time to stay up to date with politics. How active are you in the political
process? By this, I mean, do you pay attention to the candidates, do you vote, have you ever
donated to a political campaign, etc.?
How important is being active in the political process to you?
8. How would you describe the beliefs, values and customs of blacks in the United States as
compared to mainstream society? Are there any differences or similarities?
Why/ Why not?
9. How do you view yourself in relation to these beliefs, values and customs that you identify as
part of black culture?
Do you think that black culture should be preserved?
137
Do you think that mainstream society views black culture in the way you just described
it?
How would you describe the culture of upper-class blacks compared to those not as well-
off?
10. Are you ever uncomfortable expressing any part of your blackness around non-blacks?
11. Do you consider yourself black first, then American OR American first, then black?
12. [If a Link]: Do you consider yourself black first, then a woman OR a woman first, then black?
13. Do you believe that you have an obligation to help other blacks who are not as well-off as
yourself?
If so, is there an event or time period that made you realize this obligation?
14. What do you think about Barack Obama?
15. The last few questions are about Boulé / Links.
16. Why did you decide to become a member of the Boulé / Links?
17. Please describe your level of involvement in the Boulé/Links.
18. In your own opinion, what is the purpose of Boulé/Links?
19. Has the Boulé/ Links opened doors for you in your personal, social or professional life?
20. Finally, since being a part of Boulé/ Links has your outlook on life or your activities in life
changed in any way?
138
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