Black and Blue

A crisis of legitimacy exists between African Americans and American legal institutions. This book shows how and why African Americans differ in a desire to ascribe legitimacy to legal institutions, as well as a willingness to accept the policy decisions those institutions put forward.

James L. Gibson is the Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government in the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also Professor Extraordinary in Political Science, and Fellow, Centre for Comparative and International Politics, Stellenbosch University (South Africa). Gibson's research interests are in law and politics, comparative politics, and american politics. In 2011, Gibson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association.

Michael J. Nelson is Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor in Political Science and Affiliate Law Faculty at Pennsylvania State University. He studies public support for the legal system and how judicial elections affect the development of the law.