Power of fraternity: The impact of organizational membership on political participation and social trust in New Orleans
Description
This study draws upon data collected from a 1998 random digit telephone survey of 600 people residing in New Orleans to explore the role of organizational membership in connecting African-Americans into both the political life and the civic life of their community To begin with, the empirical investigation into black organizational membership confirms that black New Orleans is a community of joiners. In fact, the membership rate for African-Americans in New Orleans is superior to the African-American membership figures found in national studies. This, of course, was facilitated by the powerful influence of membership in church-related organizations. In New Orleans, the church is the bedrock institution in the black community and is the parent organization of a large number of associations in the community The study did ascertain that organizational membership is instrumental in stimulating African-Americans to participate in the city's political life. However, it is not mere affiliation that encourages political action, but, just as we surmised, it is the activities that members are engaging in inside these organizations that is positively influencing political participation. In short, membership in non-political organizations, through the development of civic skills, is causally connected with political activity in New Orleans Generally speaking, organizational affiliation was not instrumental in producing social trust in the New Orleans' black community as it was for the white community. To begin with, whites who were members, especially those who attended meetings, were much more positive than white non-members, while blacks members manifested levels of trust that were equal to non-members. Certain affiliations, such as with a professional association or a social club, are statistically related to social trust or positive expectations for blacks. However, blacks are far less likely than whites to be affiliated with those particular organizations In closing, this study offers one of the first steps in examining how organizational membership influences political participation and social trust in a majority black context. Our investigation into the African-American experience in New Orleans confirms and rejects many propositions about the foundations of organizational life on political participation and positive expectations. Voluntary organizations in New Orleans are working at getting African-Americans to participate politically, but they do not appear to be acting as a mechanism in helping African-Americans acquire positive expectations toward other people's actions