Author: "Cory Booker, Tim Scott Represent America's New Black Politician"

PolicyMic sees an increasing shift in black American electoral politics: "In her book, The New Black Politician, Andra Gillespie uses Newark Mayor Cory Booker to profile the new black politician. In an interview with Salon, Gillespie describes the new black politician as 'black political entrepreneurs.' Gillespie explains that black political entrepreneurs have 'cross-over appeal.'"

The new black politicians are typically technocrats or former corporate execs, with crossover appeal: "'They build political alliances that circumvent the traditional black political establishment, and deliberately work to establish more diverse appeal, outreach and power centers among the electorate, says Gillespie. The new black politicians are game changers. They build multicultural coalitions.'"

According to Ms. Gillespie, folks as ideologically diverse as U.S. President Barack Obama and Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) fit the "new black politician" mold: "All of the leading black politicians today fit this description. They are highly accomplished, well-spoken outsiders, who do not fit the mode of the legacy civil rights era politician. Before they burst onto the national scene, they were better known outside of the black community than within it. Their cross-over appeal gives them access to funding and support from groups that in the past were not entirely supportive of black politicians. (Think Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson.)"