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POWER, IDENTITY, AND THE LIMITS OF AGENCY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2008

Mitchell Brown
Mitchell Brown*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Auburn University
*
Professor Mitchell Brown, Department of Political Science, Auburn University, 7080 Haley Center, Auburn, AL 36849. E-mail: brown11@auburn.edu
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Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the limits of “power to” and agency through an examination of the Barry administration in Washington, DC. I begin by asking why this administration, born of the civil rights movement and tremendous optimism, was unable to live up to its expectations. I provide an in-depth examination of Barry's efforts at reform, his popular appeal, and his appeal to business within the context of Washington's local political history. I find that Barry's power was constrained by a combination of structural factors, personal choices, the legacy of racism and racist exclusion, and a failed identity-deployment strategy. The findings have broader implications for the use of identity-deployment strategies for minority political leaders generally.

Keywords

Political PowerPolitical AgencyIdentity PoliticsWashington, DCMarion Barry
Type
STATE OF THE DISCIPLINE
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Fall 2008 , pp. 369 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2008

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