Michael Leo Owens
Professor of Political Science, Emory University
Chapter Member: Georgia SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Michael
Owens' research focuses on local and state politics and policy; policing and imprisonment; racial politics; and religion and politics. Overarching themes in Owens' writings include political representation and empowerment; policy advocacy; social inequality; neighborhood change; and social welfare. Owens; a past president of the international Urban Affairs Association; serves on the national advisory board of the Georgia Justice Project; as well as an associate editor of the Journal of Urban Affairs and member of the editorial boards of Perspectives on Politics Journal of Race; Ethnicity; and the City; and Politics; Groups; and Identities.
Contributions
In the News
Research discussed by , in "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Why Some States and Cities Want to Secede," Governing, June 19, 2018.
Quoted by Ross Terrell in "Gwinnett Could Elect First Nonwhite School Board Members," WABE, May 2, 2018.
Quoted by Suzanne Monyak in "Can an African American Berniecrat Push Southern Democrats Left?," The New Republic, November 7, 2017.
Opinion: "‘Banning the Box’ Would Help People Released from Prison Rebuild Their Lives," Michael Leo Owens, The Conversation, August 3, 2015.
Opinion: "Mass Incarceration Does Injustice to Millions of American Children," Michael Leo Owens, The Guardian, August 19, 2013.
Opinion: "Reduce Economic Immobility," Michael Leo Owens, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 14, 2013.
Opinion: "MLK Day: A ‘Day On’ for What?," Michael Leo Owens, Opinion: Need to Know on PBS, January 18, 2013.
Opinion: "Let My Preachers Endorse: A Modest Church-State Proposal," Michael Leo Owens, Religion Dispatches, November 18, 2012.
Opinion: "Transportation Tax Could be Tough Sell," Michael Leo Owens, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 24, 2010.
Publications
"Uneven Reparations for Wrongful Convictions: Examining the State Politics of Statutory Compensation Legislation" (with ). Albany Law Review 75 (2011/2012): 1283-1327.
Discusses the struggle that many of the wrongly-convicted people face in their quest to acquire compensation for unjust imprisonment along with aid for social reintegration.
"Weakening Strong Black Political Empowerment: Implications from Atlanta’s 2009 Mayoral Election" (with ). Journal of Urban Affairs (forthcoming).
Tells the story of how, after decades of struggle, Blacks control the city halls of many cities. Their challenges to retaining them in the 21st century are great.
"'Deviants' and Democracy: Punitive Policy Designs for Poor Citizens with Drug Felonies" (with ). American Politics Research 40 (2012): 531-567.
Explores the question: why do some states take a punitive approach toward poor citizens using drugs, while others look for ways to reduce punitive responses to lawbreakers, including felons?
"The Political Determinants of Women’s Descriptive Representation in Cities" (with ). Political Research Quarterly 65 (2012): 315-329.
Explains how urban political context affects women’s numerical representation in local government, and the political characteristics of local communities are consequential for predicting the presence of women as municipal policymakers.
"The Distributive Politics of ‘Compassion in Action’: Federal Funding, Faith-Based Organizations, and Electoral Advantage" (with ). Political Research Quarterly 65 (2012): 422-442.
Suggests that federal social welfare funding for faith-based organizations during the George W. Bush administration may have served a combination of purposes, including grants for both electoral purposes as well as help for meeting social needs.
"Faith-Based Initiatives" in Encyclopedia of Religion in America, Volume 2, E-K, edited by Charles H. Lippy and Peter W. Williams (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2010).
Provides a concise definition and brief history and contextual discussion of faith-based initiatives.
"God & Government in the Ghetto: The Politics of Church-State Collaboration in Black America" (University of Chicago Press, 2007).
Draws on survey data and fieldwork to show how government grants to faith-based organizations have created a means for black clergy to reaffirm political leadership and enhance their moral authority in black civil society.