A Fragile Alliance

David Dinkins, Coalition Politics, and the Struggle to Govern a City in Crisis

A major reassessment of New York Citys first Black mayor and the fragile coalition politics that reshaped urban America

Charting the rise and fall of New York Citys first African American mayor, A Fragile Alliance offers a vivid, deeply researched account of governance, coalition-building, and political change in one of the nations most turbulent urban eras. Drawing on newly available archival sources, James J. Barney examines Dinkinss rise to power in 1989 and his mayoralty from 1990 to 1993 as both a turning point in New York City history and a revealing case study in the possibilities, and limits, of identity-based coalition politics.

Dinkinss historic 1989 election brought together a diverse, multiracial alliance that defeated entrenched political power and promised a new vision for the city. Yet once in office, Dinkins confron