The Anger Rule
Racial Inequality and Constraints on Black Politicians

Examines how Black politicians are penalized for expressing anger and demonstrates how this anger penalty helps sustain racial inequality.

Antoine J. Banks (Author), Ismail K. White (Author)

9781009275200, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 November 2024

190 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.7 cm, 0.43 kg

'What limits the possibilities of African American politics? Banks and White analyze the role of anger in American politics, and they find a unique and complicated dynamic in this provocative and incisive new work … This work provides data-driven insight into a powerful variable that shapes the nature of how African American politicians operate and the possibilities for substantive change in modern politics … Highly recommended.' K. Anderson, Choice

In The Anger Rule, Antoine J. Banks and Ismail K. White examine how Black politicians are uniquely penalized for expressing anger, especially anger related to race. Drawing on social psychology and philosophy, Banks and White demonstrate how this anger penalty helps sustain racial inequality. They argue that anger infers power because it propels individuals to change the status quo. When Black politicians are constrained from expressing anger, it limits their ability to mobilize against wrongs and rally fellow group members; it also signals a lack of power to Black voters. This argument is assessed using a multi-method approach of national survey experiments and content analysis of United States presidential and House congressional speeches and remarks. The findings show that Black politicians and voters are aware of the anger penalty, therefore constraining their anger in political spaces to avoid backlash from those who maintain the racial status quo.

1. Power of Anger
2. Anger Rule
3. Angry Black Politicians? 4. Anger Penalty
5. Racial Differences in Anger Expression
6. Anger Constraint
7. The Anger Rule Going Forward.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]