The history of the United States is one of racial division and conquest. People of
color have employed every method of resistance available to them to defend themselves
against white racist aggression. Large political coalitions among racially oppressed
groups have been relatively rare in United States' history. Political scientists and
sociologists have revised downward early predictions of coalitions among these groups.
Most contemporary social science details the problems confronting interracial alliances
but do not detail empirically supported solutions. This thesis fills the gap in the
literature by analyzing two interracial political campaigns in Houston, Texas. In so
doing, I use extended case method and grounded theory to define the organizational
structures, ideologies, and political climates that skillful organizers have used to
successfully launch and maintain political coalitions among African Americans, Latinos,
and whites. Through participant observation, in-depth interviewing with organizers
from Justice for Janitors campaigns in 1986 and 2006, and content analysis, I extend
social movements and critical race literatures. The thesis extends Bell's interest convergence theory to include struggles for
civil and economic rights conducted in the new millennium primarily in support of
Latinos. Contrary to the political process model and in support of interest convergence
theory, I find that Justice for Janitors campaign outcomes depended on whether white
policymakers clearly saw whites' interests in supporting racial justice. Even with similar
political climates, organizers' achieved success through sacrificing Latina janitors'
racialized interests to bring union demands into agreement with white policymakers'
goals. This case study gives close attention to one aspect of the union's negotiations of
the 2006 political climate, namely the union's careful framing of the movement to
minimize discussions of race in a white racist context.
Finally, this thesis also looks inside the movement and analyzes the roles that
personal racial ideology and organizational structure played in the trajectory of the 2006
campaign. I conclude with a discussion of interracial political coalitions and what
lessons future organizers and aggrieved parties can learn from Justice for Janitors'
efforts in Houston, Texas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-3247 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Bracey, Glenn Edward |
| Contributors | Feagin, Joe R. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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