The first comprehensive analysis of the Reagan revolution's impact on African-American political life. Walton, professor of political science at the University of Michigan and author of "Black Politics and Black Political Behavior", marshals significant new data--including much new survey and opinion research and innovative case studies--Walton to measure the impact of the conservative counterrevolution, from the Reagan victory of 1980 to the Republican congressional triumphs of 1994. Case studies linking national changes to local and state politics form the heart of the book, which concludes with a critical assessment of the Clinton record on race and the Democratic Party's response to affirmative action, welfare, and other aspects of the African-American political agenda.