Hanes Walton Jr.
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Hanes Walton Jr. (September 25, 1941 — January 8, 2013) was an American
political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
and professor of African-American studies who pioneered the study of race in American politics. He was an early advocate for the creation of African-American politics as a subfield of political science, and he has been credited with developing the scientific study of Black politics. Walton published dozens of books and more than 100 journal articles or book chapters, investigating topics like African-American political participation and representation,
Black conservatism Black conservatism is a political and social philosophy rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the conservative ideology around the world. Black conservatives emphasize traditionalism, patriotism, self-sufficiency, a ...
,
political parties in the United States American electoral politics have been dominated by two major political parties since shortly after the founding of the republic of the United States of America. Since the 1850s, the two have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party†...
, and the American presidency.


Education and early career

Walton was born in
Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
, on September 25, 1941. He was educated in
Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
, graduating from the public school system with honors in 1959. Walton attended
Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...
as an undergraduate, earning his AB degree in 1963. He then went to
Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...
for graduate school, earning an MA degree in 1964. Walton pursued his PhD in government at
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, graduating in 1967. This made Walton the first person to ever receive a PhD in government from Howard University.


Career

In 1966, Walton was hired as a faculty member at Atlanta University. In 1967 he moved to
Savannah State College ) , established = , closed = , type = Public historically black university , parent = University System of Georgia , academic_affiliation = Space-grant , endowment ...
, and then returned to Atlanta University in 1971. In 1984 he became a professor at
The University of Georgia ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, also accepting a faculty associate position at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1992. He was a professor at the University of Michigan for the remainder of his career, but his affiliation with The University of Georgia continued until 2013. At the University of Michigan, Walton was affiliated both with the political science department and the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies. Walton was a prolific writer, publishing dozens of books and textbooks during his career, with some sources attributing 21 books to him and others attributing as many as 25. Several of these books, such as ''African American power and politics: The political context variable'', ''The political philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr.'', and ''Black politics and black political behavior: A linkage analysis'', continue to be actively cited years after Walton's death. Walton has also been credited with publishing 80 journal articles and 25 book chapters. Walton's publications in highly selective journals like the
American Journal of Political Science The ''American Journal of Political Science'' is a journal published by the Midwest Political Science Association. It was formerly known as the ''Midwest Journal of Political Science''. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal ...
and the Journal of Politics include early studies of gender differences in political perceptions, particularly as these differences intersect with race when it comes to African-American candidates and voters, as well as systematic studies of
Black political parties This is a list of political parties stating that they represent Black people and Black interests. Africa Europe North America South America See also *African nationalism * Anti-imperialism *Anti-racism *Black nationalism References {{Re ...
. Walton was elected to prominent service positions in the discipline, serving as the Vice President of the
American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, ...
from 2012 until 2013. He was also the recipient of several major awards, including winning the
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
in 1971, the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
Research Fellowship for Minority-Group Scholars in 1979, and a
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
fellowship in 1982.


Personal life and death

Walton and his wife, Alice, had two children. He died on January 8, 2013, aged 71.


Legacy

Walton's work in developing the field of African-American political studies has been the subject of lecture series, as well as Robert C. Smith's book ''Hanes Walton, Jr.: Architect of the Black Science of Politics''. Smith credits Walton with advocating for Black Politics to become a full subfield within the discipline of political science, and argues that Walton's work was an inextricable part of the Black Politics subfield for most of that subfield's early development. Shortly following Walton's death, the University of Michigan held a memorial lecture for him; in a retrospective biography published by the Center for Political Studies there, his research activity was summarized as exploring "a wide range of topics including the presidency, elections, political parties, black political participation, black conservatism, and African-American involvement in political parties". Several subsequent lectures in honor of Walton have been held at major educational institutions, including the University of Michigan and the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
. Walton's contributions have also been honored by the establishment of endowments in his name to fund the study of race and politics. The central award in the study of racial and ethnic politics, presented by the
American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, ...
, is called the Hanes Walton Award in his honor. At the time of Walton's death, then-Director of the University of Michigan Center for Political Studies, Nancy Burns, said that "Hanes Walton transformed a field" through "his books on black politics", as well as by being "a key mentor to generations of scholars in the field". Fellow University of Michigan political science professor Chuck Shipan said that Walton's "influence cannot be overstated" in the study of race in American politics, and that his work on political parties, the American presidency, and urban politics were also pioneering. Ravi K. Perry, the chair of the political science department at Howard University, has credited Walton with inspiring him to study politics.


Selected works

*''The political philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr.'' (1971) *''Black politics and black political behavior: A linkage analysis'' (1994) *''African American power and politics: The political context variable'' (1997)


Selected awards

*Guggenheim Fellowship (1971) *Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (1979) *Ford Foundation Fellowship (1982)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Hanes Jr. 1941 births 2013 deaths 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics American political scientists Clark Atlanta University alumni Clark Atlanta University faculty Howard University alumni Morehouse College alumni People from Augusta, Georgia Place of death missing Savannah State University faculty University of Georgia faculty University of Michigan faculty