Here, Katherine Tate examines the significance of race in the U.S. system of representative democracy for African Americans. Presenting important new findings, she offers the first empirical study to take up the question of representation from both sides of the constituent-representative relationship. The first half of the book examines whether black members of the U.S. Congress represent their constituents differently than white members do. The second half looks at the issue of representation from the perspective of ordinary African Americans based on a landmark national survey. These findings are sure to generate controversy, particularly as debate commences over renewing the Voting Rights Act, which is set to expire in 2007.