Riggs, Alex
(2024)
Creating a rainbow: ideas and coalition building on the American left, c. 1973-1988.
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
Creating a Rainbow: Ideas and Coalition Building on the American Left, c. 1973-1988 examines how the 1970s and 1980s witnessed a period of creativity and dynamism for the American left, using the ‘rainbow coalition’ project to rejuvenate itself and remain relevant in the face of conservative national electoral success. Contrary to narratives of the American left as retreating in response to the rise of Reaganism and neoliberalism, this thesis instead shows that by making use of ideas like participation, redistribution, and equality, common agendas could be formed between constituencies of the ‘old’ left of the working class and labour movement and ‘new’ left constituencies of feminists, civil rights activists, and LGBT rights activists, amongst others. This story is traced through three case studies that occupy one section each of the thesis: the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (as it was known until 1982) and Democratic Socialists of America (as it was known after 1982), with a focus on its first chair Michael Harrington; the Harold Washington administration in Chicago from 1983 to 1987, especially the pivotal role played by his central advisors Robert Mier and Kari Moe; and the 1988 Jesse Jackson presidential campaign.
Throughout the thesis, the centrality of the rainbow coalition concept, whereby a variety of activists could form alliances based on a mutual and interconnecting agenda while retaining their distinct identities as trade unionists, feminists, or African-Americans to name a few, is underscored. Deploying this concept gave the activists featured in this thesis a framework with which they could guide their political activity, focusing their attention on the need to unite groups around shared agendas of equality and participation. Yet more than just a theoretical grounding, the rainbow coalition paved the way for concrete policy agendas that fleshed out these overarching concepts and inspired practical political projects within the Democratic Party at the national and local levels. More than symbolism then, the rainbow represented a powerful driving force for creative political action. This thesis does not avoid the problems that came with these ideas and the political organisation around them, especially in keeping such diverse constituencies united and navigating the difficulties that came with operating in the Democratic Party from the left. However, it still argues that the main story to be taken is one of remarkable political energy in the late twentieth century in the American left, latching onto trends of diversity and proliferate political activism to craft its own vision of the present and future of American politics.
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