Brown, Nadia E. Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), $32.99, 250 pp. ISBN: 978-0-199-35243-2 (cloth).

In Sisters in the Statehouse, Nadia E. Brown examines how identity and lived experience influence the decision-making processes of African American women state legislators. This book is path-breaking insofar as it blazes a trail for future intersectionality-type research that focuses squarely upon the lives of African American women state legislators. Based on an intragroup analysis of African American women who held seats in the Maryland state legislature between 2009 and 2011, the book showcases a range of qualitative and interpretive methods (e.g., in-depth elite interviews and case studies as well as feminist life histories and participant observation) to advance our practical and theoretical understanding of the diversity that exists between and among African American women state legislators. In it, Brown makes the case that identity foregrounds experience and tells how African American women state legislators perceive the effects of their identities (read: plural) on their legislative work. More specifically, Brown examines how these state representatives use their identities to interpret legislation dealing with same-sex marriage, domestic violence, minority businesses, and elder care. This is a fascinating study, carefully researched and thoughtfully written. It centers on some of the most vexing and controversial issues today, which makes the project timely and ambitious. Such an understudied line of inquiry is bound to spark additional intersectionality-type research on African American women in state legislatures across time and region as well as policy domains. To date, little research has examined whether and how the intersection of race and gender influences legislative behavior. Edith Barrett’s (1995) landmark study on state legislative behavior demonstrated that African American female legislators were unique in their cohesiveness on prioritizing particular issues, such as education, health care, and economic development. At the same time, and no less importantly, Barrett (1995) concluded that African American women were essentially united in their policy interests. In this way, previous research has taken a somewhat static approach, ignoring the political context in which legislators might prioritize elements of their identity differentially, as they cannot be expected to consistently take similar legislative positions. Brown’s analysis offers us a more dynamic interpretation and comprehensive account of how and when African American women state legislators are more likely to behave as a cohesive voting bloc and when they are more likely to behave as individuals. As this study demonstrates, the legislative activity of African American women is a particularly interesting avenue through which to explore the intersections of race, gender, and political representation.