This engaging, up-to-date collection of original essays focuses on the continuing struggle for minorities to gain political power in American cities. The essays included in this book were written specifically for this text by top urban scholars who have done extensive analysis of the development of urban policy in response to minority concerns. Each selection addresses a particular city's racially based electoral coalitions and leadership, as well as examining recent political changes, their impact, and future implications. Each essay also features the editors' successful "Political Incorporation Model" which provides a framework melding research on ethnic coalition with mobilization strategies and allows students to effectively compare one U.S. city to another.