Evaluate the extent to which racial equality has been advanced in the US in the 21st century. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Voting
- Institutional Racism
- Representation
Introduction - Argument
There have definitely been some moves towards racial equality in the US in the 21st century, however, for the most part the US seems to be regressing in terms of racial equality
Advanced - Voting - Point
There have been some recent advancements in both the Supreme Court and within Congress that mean it could be argued that there have been advancements towards racial equality
Advanced - Voting - Examples
- The Merrill v Milligan case currently in the SC concerns how only 1 of Alabama’s 7 Congressional Districts has a majority black population despite them making up 1/4. Justice Keegan noted ‘this case should be a slam dunk’
- The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act has been passed by the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. This would stop attempts across the US by Republicans to erode easy access to voting
Regressed - Voting - Point
The John Lewis Voting Rights Act is 1 of 300 pieces of legislation passed in the House but not in the Senate, and Republicans have said they will block it. As a result, there have been far more recent examples of voting rights being taken away from racial minorities
Regressed - Voting - Examples
- In the 2013 Shelby v Holder case the Supreme Court declared that the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional as they argued in the era of a Black President the VRA was unnecessary
- Gerrymandering has also meant that racial minorities are discriminated against - in 2010, North Carolina were found guilty of racial gerrymandering, this was not fixed as there were accusations again in 2016
Advanced - Institutional Racism - Point
There have been a number of Congressional Acts and Supreme Court decisions which have aimed to stop institutional racism, some of these have been successful
Advanced - Institutional Racism - Examples
- The Emmett Till Act was passed in March 2022 and has made lynching a hate crime, addressing a history of racist killings in the US
- Affirmative action was implemented in 1965 and this has continued in the US to this day. It was upheld by the Supreme Court in the 2016 Fisher v University of Texas case. This has meant that universities are allowed to have race consciousness admission policies
Regressed - Institutional Racism - Point
However, this is not to say there is still not a massive amount of institutional racism within the US, particuarly in the police force
Regressed - Institutional Racism - Examples
- In May 2020, George Floyd, a black man, was killed by a police officer after he stood on his neck. This led to a series of Black Lives Matter protests across the country and the world
- Seemingly nothing has changed as in January 2023, Tyre Nicholas, another black man, was killed after a police officer put pressure on his neck for 8 minutes. What made it worse was that this officer was black himself
Advanced - Representation - Point
Congress and the Executive have beomce far more representative of the US as a whole in the recent years, promoting more racial equality
Advanced - Representation - Examples
- Biden’s cabinet is incredibly representative with a number of people from ethnic minorites including Lloyd Austin as Defence Secretary and Miguel Cardona as Education Secretary
- There are 133 Senators and Representatives in Congress that identify as an ethnic minority as well as caucuses which represent the interest of minorities such as the Congressional Black Caucus
Regressed - Representation - Point
However, there has also been some damaging cases and legislature which has stopped ethnic minorities’ ability to vote for those who represent them as easily
Regressed - Representation - Examples
- In the 2019 case of Rucho v Common Cause, the SC concluded that gerryingmandering might be ‘incompatible with democratic principles but the federal court could not prosecute the states’
- There has been a massive disenfranchisement of Americans, particularly racial minorities. Kentucky, Virgina, Florida, Tennessee have disenfranchised over 20% of their population through policies such as having a criminal record and requiring photo ID