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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
DEPARTMENT OF AFRO-AMERICAN STUDIES

341 BLACK POLITICS AND CITY GOVERNMENT

VEL PHILLIPS, JD, Adjunct Professor
Fall Semester 1, 1985 - 6:30 - 9:10 P. M.
Mitchell Hall - Room #367

DESCRIPTION

It is well established that the Black citizen in this country today is
destined to spend most of his lifetime in an urban environment. It is
also well established that although substantial gains have been made
in the area of Black political participation at all levels of govern-
ment, recent studies have shown that the rate of growth in the numbers
of Blacks elected to office has slowed. Further, the hard fact is that
Blacks comprise a mere 1% of all elected officials in the United States
even though they are 12% of the total population. Clearly Blacks are
still very far from being equitably represented among public officials.
It is essential to correct this inequity if Black citizens are to be a
part of a truly representative system of government. This course is
designed to give us some insight and some understanding of Black poli-
tical involvement in an urban community. Because the subject area is
very broad, this course shall attempt to narrow the coverage into four
general categories.

REQUIREMENTS

1. REGULAR CLASS ATTENDANCE is mandatory
2. Participation in class discussion - based on the required texts and
other reading material and on the lectures.
3. One term paper - 30%
4. One mid-term exam - 30%
5. Final exam - 40%

OFFICE HOURS

I will be available every Wednesday evening after class and also by appoint-
ment.