Christopher J. Clark is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Co-Winner, Virginia Gray Best Book Award, APSA State Politics and Policy Section
Winner, Alan Rosenthal Prize from the Legislative Studies Section, American Political Science Association

"Clark has provided a quite noteworthy contribution to our empirical understanding of how — and in what context — descriptive representation matters in affecting policy and political outcomes. I commend him for providing extensive evidence..." -- Todd C. Shaw , University of South Carolina, Perspectives on Politics

"Ultimately Clark's book represents a valuable contribution to a number of sub-fields in the study of American politics." -- Michael P. Olson, Harvard University, Journal of Race Ethnicity and Politics

"Christopher Clark's book, Gaining Voice, is a welcome addition to the literature on race and representation. It deftly argues for a multifaceted approach that examines individual and collective representation through caucuses at the state level. Scholars interested in legislative politics, state politics, and race in American politics should read this book, and take seriously the call to examine representation in this way as it will yield new knowledge and research paths for future work." --Jason P. Casellas, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Houston

"Gaining Voice traces the representation of African-Americans in state legislatures from its demographic causes to the way it shapes legislative institutions and finally through to its powerful policy consequences. Clark draws on a range of sources to show where black politicians win office and just how strong their voices can be on issues such as education spending." --Thad Kousser, Professor and Department Chair of Political Science, UC San Diego