4.5 Race and rights in contemporary US politics

Question 1

What were the 2 key developments in racial rights in the US?

What were other important milestones?

Answer 1

The end of slavery after the Civil War (1861-65).

The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s - saw the end of legally supported separate facilities

Other important milestones:

• Use of affirmative action
• Election of Obama

Question 2

Why do major concerns and conflicts still occur, with persistent levels of racial inequality and overt racism?

Answer 2

There are still calls for desegregation and voter registration in the South, and better jobs, housing and school integration in the North.

Question 3

How do major concerns and conflicts occur, with persistent levels of racial inequality and over racism in the US?

Answer 3

• Still calls for desegregation and voter registration in the South, and better jobs, housing and school integration in the North
• Voting rights, representation and affirmative action represent some of that ongoing political conflict

Question 4

Methods used by racial rights campaigners

Answer 4

• Demonstrations and civil resistance
• Legal methods
• Voter registration drives

Question 5

Grassroots movements to end racial discrimination and promote racial equality

Answer 5

• Became prominent in 1950s and 60s
• Protest of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 - while not the first act of resistance - followed by array of actions across the South
• Momentum built to overcome restrictions on minority rights

Question 6

How are racial demonstrations still in use today?

Answer 6

• Particularly since the Shelby County v Holder ruling and concerns over Trump’s words and policies
• NAACP - held series of demonstrations across particularly southern states - Moral Mondays demonstrations (focussed particularly in NC) campaign against variety of concerns including:
• • state-based restrictions on minority voting (e.g., photo ID laws, felony voting restrictions)

2014 - NAACP - organised peaceful sit-in at a Republican Party leader’s office in the state legislature in Raleigh - 14 people arrested

Question 7

What legal methods are used by racial rights campaigners?

Answer 7

• Regularly use Court system to achieve aims - utilise 14th and 15th amendments, Civil Rights Act 1964 and Voting Rights Act 1965
• National Council of La Raza - Hispanic rights group - successfully litigated against state of Nevada in 2016 - for failure to register voters according to federal law principles

Taking legal actions - allows pressure groups to challenge federal/state govt by initiating a case themselves
- Or - pressure groups can submit amicus briefs - provide written evidence and argument to the Court in a particular case

Question 8

Voter registration drives by racial rights campaigners

Answer 8

• Early 1960s - first voter-registration campaigns - expanded quickly - supported by NAACP - involved educating public on their voting rights (explaining the processes and helping to register) - fierce resistance, w/ violence, death threats and lynching
• Campaign continued gathering pace through 60s
• 2016 elections - Native American groups involved in organising and maximising voting under the banner of nativevote.org and Get-Out-The-Native-Vote (GOTNV)

Question 9

15th amendment

Answer 9

• Established the right to vote, regardless of race
• Despite this - Southern states (particularly) acted to prevent racial minority voting - Jim Crow laws - literacy tests and felony voting restrictions + grandfather clause in many states
• Restrictions very effective - in many southern states - at start of 20th century - black voter registration close to 0

Question 10

Civil Rights Act 1964

Answer 10

• Ended separate facilities - black rights groups focussed on ensuring voting rights after this

Question 11

Voting Rights Act 1965

Answer 11

• Overturned Jim Crow laws inhibiting minority voting
• Additionally - the Federal Justice Department would vet all state laws to prevent any discriminatory practice

Enormous impact - number of black voters registered doubling within 2 years
- 2008 black turnout - exceeded average turnout

Question 12

Hispanic voting

Answer 12

• Crucial in allowing Obama to be re-elected in 2012 - his share of the Hispanic vote rose from 67% to 71%
• Hillary Clinton - unable to hold on to this share - 65%
• Hispanic influence in voting rising - 27.3 million Latinos eligible to vote in 2016, an increase of 4 million from 2012

Strong in some swing states - e.g. Florida - huge rise in Puerto Rican voters

Question 13

Major restrictions on minority voting rights still present

Answer 13

• Rise in state-based restrictions during the Obama presidency
• Shelby ruling - restricted ability of the federal govt to intervene to stop them
• NAACP struggling to score victories at state level - wasn’t supported by Trump administration from 2017-21

Question 14

Legal changes and major interest group efforts

Answer 14

• Have allowed a huge rise in black candidates for public office and huge increases in representation at both state and federal level

Question 15

What has the increase diversity among elected politicians arguably led to?

Answer 15

• Greater focus on minority issues in the creation of public policy

Question 16

Importance of the enfranchisement of racial minorities?

Answer 16

• Has contributed to the realignment of the Democratic and Republican Parties and the formation of their current ideological identity - w/ JFK and LBJ supporting minority rights, southern conservative Democrat voters switched their allegiance to the GOP
• Republicans - particularly under Nixon - responded to this with their ‘southern strategy’ - in which they attempted to attract white southern voters

Therefore - modern parties ideologically polarised with a typical north/south divide

Question 17

Sea change in the representation of minority groups

Answer 17

• In terms of holding positions of power
• 115th Congress (2017-18) - highest level of minority representation in history of US
• Product of radical rights campaigns of previous decades

Question 18

Limitations of diversity in public office

Answer 18

• Congress still doesn’t look like the US - black, hispanic and Native American groups all under-represented in the House and Senate

Particularly low in Senate - partly because of many majority-minority districts in the house whereas in each state representation a Senate seat is white

Question 19

How many black members in Congress (117th)?

Question 20

How many hispanic members in Congress (117th)?

Question 21

How many Native American members in Congress (117th)?

Question 22

How many female members in Congress (117th)?

Question 23

Define affirmative action

Answer 23

• A policy of favouring historically disadvantaged members of a community