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Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the number of African- Americans competing for and holding state legislative offices has increased significantly. Their growth is most notable in southern state legislatures. A growing number of studies have been devoted to African-Americans in these state legislatures. Absent from previous studies is a comprehensive analysis of African-Americans in the Louisiana state legislature. In 2007 there were a total of 32 African-American legislators. Louisiana ranks among other states with the highest number, 32, and percentage, 22, of African-American legislators. Yet, despite their relatively large presence few scholarly studies have examined their legislative behavior. This study focused primarily on the substantive representation of African-Americans, especially during the post-Hurricane Katrina period. In this dissertation, the following questions were examined: Have the growing number of these legislators resulted in greater influence in state policy-making? Have they chaired any important, policy-relevant committees in the state legislature? Have they articulated and advocated a race-based legislative agenda for African-American constituents? Using a multi-methodological approach including the analysis of voting rights legislation introduced in the post-Hurricane Katrina legislative sessions and qualitative interviews, evidence was found to conclude that African-American House members have provided substantive representation to their constituents, obtained key institutional leadership positions, and campaigned in biracial terms, which has contributed to there ability to have a notable impact in the chamber.

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the number of African- Americans competing for and holding state legislative offices has increased significantly. Their growth is most notable in southern state legislatures. A growing number of studies have been devoted to African-Americans in these state legislatures. Absent from previous studies is a comprehensive analysis of African-Americans in the Louisiana state legislature. In 2007 there were a total of 32 African-American legislators. Louisiana ranks among other states with the highest number, 32, and percentage, 22, of African-American legislators. Yet, despite their relatively large presence few scholarly studies have examined their legislative behavior. This study focused primarily on the substantive representation of African-Americans, especially during the post-Hurricane Katrina period. In this dissertation, the following questions were examined: Have the growing number of these legislators resulted in greater influence in state policy-making? Have they chaired any important, policy-relevant committees in the state legislature? Have they articulated and advocated a race-based legislative agenda for African-American constituents? Using a multi-methodological approach including the analysis of voting rights legislation introduced in the post-Hurricane Katrina legislative sessions and qualitative interviews, evidence was found to conclude that African-American House members have provided substantive representation to their constituents, obtained key institutional leadership positions, and campaigned in biracial terms, which has contributed to there ability to have a notable impact in the chamber.

Studies on immigrant women’s political incorporation in Canada suggest that they are less likely to participate politically than immigrant men and Canadian-born women. Many studies have examined the factors that contribute to their lower levels of political participation, yet the impacts of migration experiences have received less attention. To address this gap, this dissertation examines the political incorporation experiences of first-generation immigrant women from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Canada as a case study by employing a trajectory and life course approach to migration to analyze how gendered migration trajectories and experiences influence immigrant women’s political participation in Canada. I also employ La Barbera’s (2012) ‘intersectional-gender’ approach to examine how gender intersects with other social cleavages like race, ethnicity, class, and immigration status to affect immigrant women’s repertoires of political participation. Lastly, I examine how immigrant women may overcome the obstacles imposed by migration and the interlocking systems of oppression in Canada, particularly through the various ways they exercise political agency in the informal political sphere. I draw on life stories interviews with fifteen Congolese women residing in Canada’s metropolitan area of Ottawa-Gatineau. The findings reveal that participants’ migration trajectories to Canada are deeply gendered at the micro, meso, and macro levels, and while most participants felt politically incorporated in Canada, aspects of their gendered migration trajectories limited their participation in the formal political sphere. This includes barriers posed by migration projects, migration types, modes of entry, immigration status, migration experiences, and travelling gender norms from the DRC. However, these barriers generated opportunities for greater participation in the informal political sphere, such as advocacy through ethnocultural and religious groups, protests, school boards, professional networks, and petitions. Furthermore, the findings reveal that participants’ experiences of political marginalization and discrimination in both Canadian society and African immigrant communities, because of their identity as Black Congolese immigrant women, increased their proclivity to participate in informal political activities, as did their socioeconomic status as middle-class immigrant women. The findings make important empirical, analytical, and methodological contributions by providing an original framework for understanding the links between gendered migration trajectories and immigrant women’s political incorporation, enlightening broader understandings of political participation and challenging notions of immigrant women as apolitical, highlighting the understudied impacts of interlocking systems of power on political participation, and disproving the idea that political incorporation is a straightforward process of inclusion and a condition of social cohesiveness.

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Cette thèse porte sur les nouveaux réseaux d’incorporation politique et sur la mobilisation politique des jeunes immigrés irréguliers de la région de New York et du New Jersey. Son objectif est d’évaluer si les politiques qui ouvrent ou ferment l’accès de ces jeunes aux frais d’inscription à l'université appliqués aux résidents de l'État sont associés à différents niveaux d’appartenance et à différents styles d’organisations politiques. La recherche s’appuie sur les théories relatives à l’incorporation politique et sur un modèle de mobilisation collective lié aux ressources disponibles. Elle emprunte aussi aux théories sur la formulation des politiques publiques qui mettent en lumière le rôle de l’image publique associée à la réforme de l’immigration. L'étude de terrain menée dans l'État de New York et dans le New Jersey permet d’analyser un niveau important de gouvernance qui fait souvent défaut dans le débat sur la réforme de l’immigration. L'approche méthodologique est mixte, combinant des données quantitatives tirées d’une enquête en ligne et des données qualitatives recueillies au cours de soixante entretiens. Les résultats indiquent que les jeunes irréguliers se mobilisent davantage dans les États où la loi crée un contexte de réception plus contraignant et où la coalition de soutien est encore en formation. Les politiques publiques des États influent également sur les ressources nécessaires à la participation politique et civique des jeunes immigrés. Cette thèse souligne l’importance du lieu de résidence dans l’incorporation politique des immigrés aux États-Unis, ainsi que la manière dont l’image associée aux politiques publiques encourage ou dissuade l’engagement politique. Ses résultats aideront le législateur à mieux comprendre les contextes de réception que les politiques publiques créent pour les jeunes immigrés. / This dissertation focuses on new paths of immigrant incorporation and on the political mobilization of undocumented youths in the New York-New Jersey area. The goal of this investigation is to assess whether contrasting state laws that either open or restrict eligibility for in-state tuition are associated with different levels of belonging and different styles of organizing among immigrant youths. This research draws from theories on political incorporation and a resource mobilization model of collective action. It also builds on theories of policy design highlighting the role of policy images in immigration reform. The contrasting cases of state-level policy in New York and New Jersey provide for an investigation into an important level of government that has largely been missing from the debate on comprehensive immigration reform. The dissertation relies on an innovative mixed-methods approach, collecting both quantitative data from a survey and qualitative data from sixty in-depth interviews. Results indicate that undocumented youths tend to become mobilized in states which provide more restrictive contexts of reception, and where the coalition of support is still being recruited. However, state laws affecting access to college do shape the availability of political and civic resources for immigrant youths. This dissertation highlights the importance of place in immigrants’ paths of incorporation into the United States, as well as the role of policy narratives in fostering or deterring political engagement. The results will help policymakers better understand the contexts of reception which public policies create for young immigrants.

This qualitative study investigated perceived barriers to the incorporation of Haitian immigrants in Florida into local politics and government. The theoretical framework for this study was Marschall and Mikulska's theory of minority political incorporation to better understand the political ambition of Haitian immigrants to emerge as candidates and voters toward achieving electoral success and a substantive representation. The research question addressed the lived experiences and perceptions of Haitian immigrants related to barriers to their political mobilization at district, state, and federal levels. A phenomenological study design was used with open-ended interviews of 10 Haitian Americans who lived in Florida for at least 3 years. Data were analyzed through a six phase thematic analysis, were categorized into themes and subthemes and were later coded to determine which ones best expressed the challenges that Haitian immigrants were facing. Results indicated immigration statuses, language, and poor knowledge of Haitian immigrants of U.S. politics as well as poor leadership and the absence of a communication platform as factors hindering the incorporation of Haitian immigrants into local politics and governments. Haitian-American leaders could benefit from the results of this study as they may develop a cohesive framework for citizenship drives, voter registration, community outreach, and literacy programs. The positive social change implications from this research include the view that Haitian immigrants are not a burden on the U.S. economy, but a potentially mature and attractive minority group with political value to U.S. lawmakers, district, state and presidential candidates.