Political Opportunities and African‐American Protest, 1948–1997

Abstract

Some contend that political opportunity theory is ad hoc, lacks clear measurement, and fails to distinguish opportunities from other conditions that contribute to protest. Others argue that the idea of “expanding opportunities” needs to be balanced by consideration of political threats. An annual time‐series approach is used to examine the frequency of African‐American protest in the United States from 1948 to 1997. Evidence of expanding opportunities created by divided government, strong northern Democratic Party allies, and, during the 1950s, Republican presidential incumbents responding to Cold War foreign policy constraints is found. African‐American congressional representation provides routine political access, which reduces protest. The evidence also supports explanations based on collective grievances stemming from black/white income inequality, Vietnam War deaths, and low‐to‐middle black unemployment.