Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans

Merton, Joe

Abstract

Historians seeking to explain the late twentieth century rightward shift of urban ethnic whites have tended to ignore the shifting meaning and content of white ethnic identity in this transition, and the utility of these changes to conservative political discourse. This article, focusing on the ethnic strategies of the Republican mayor of Cleveland, Ralph Perk, seeks to illustrate the importance of the “New Ethnicity” of the 1970s, and its reconceptualization of white ethnicity as a series of “values”, in the making of urban ethnic Republicans. In doing so it reorients our understanding of Perk – the “Ethnic Mayor” – and places ethnicity at the heart of the conservative insurgency reshaping urban and national politics during this period.

Citation

Merton, J. (2019). Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans. Journal of American Studies, 53(2), 449-477. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875817001803

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 26, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Dec 4, 2017
• Publication Date: May 31, 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 4, 2017
• Journal: Journal of American Studies
• Print ISSN: 0021-8758
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-5154
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 449-477
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875817001803
• Keywords: Ethnicity; Cleveland; Conservatism; Race; Ralph Perk
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/898601
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/ralph-j-perk-the-new-ethnicity-and-the-making-of-urban-ethnic-republicans/516A3FE9DCDD4EF10405B39335220D73
• Additional Information: COPYRIGHT: © Cambridge University Press and British Association for American Studies 2017