Racial and Ethnic Politics Flashcards
Unemployment rate of African Americans in the US
11.6%, double that of white Americans.
Black Lives Matter
An international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence toward black people.
Plessy vs Ferguson 1896
Supreme Court found that separate facilities were acceptable as long as they did not infringe upon the equality clause of the Constitution.
Affirmative action
An action or policy favouring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006
Introduced by Arlen Specter which proposed: Increased border security; allow long-time illegal immigrants to gain legal status, Increase number of guest workers over and above those already present in the U.S. through a new “blue card” visa program. Passed through Senate but failed to pass through conference committee.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
Would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for the approximately 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants currently residing in US; Funding 300 miles of vehicle barriers, 105 camera and radar towers, and 20,000 more Border Patrol agents, Failed to work through Senate.
Dream Act
Introduced in 2010; Would provide permanent residency to those who arrived in USA as minors and lived for five years prior to bill’s enactment having graduated from US high schools.
Obama’s immigration reform, November 2014
The most substantial change extends protection from deportation to about 4.3 million more unauthorized immigrants in the US. Immigrants will be eligible to apply for three years of relief from deportation, and work permits, if they arrived in the US before 2010, and arrived in the US under the age of 16; or arrived in the US before 2010, and have at least one child who is a US citizen or legal resident.
Black nationalism
A social movement with a variety of aims, centred around the creation of some sort of autonomy for black people from white society.
To what extent are there divisions between the main political parties over racial and ethnic issues?
Racial and ethnic issues which still divide the main political parties include:
• affirmative action – Republicans have been hostile to affirmative action at least since the 1980s, because they believe the constitution is colour-blind and affirmative action unjustly penalises the white population. Democrats have been consistent supporters since its inception, regarding it as an effective means of overcoming the legacy of slavery and segregation, although their enthusiasm has waned from the 90s onwards. It now rarely features in political campaigns, as both parties are cautious about alienating potential supporters, but traditional divisions still persist; President Obama submitted an amicus brief supporting the University of Texas in Fisher v Texas; Republicans supported Abigail Fisher
• voting rights - divisions over the implementation of the Voting Rights Act have sharpened in recent years; the act was renewed for 25 years in 2006 by votes of 98-0 in the Senate and 390-33 in the House, but in the wake of the decision in Shelby County v Holder several Republican states previously subject to federal control have attempted to tighten voting ID requirements, giving rise to accusations from Democrats that they are attempting to discourage minority participation
• immigration reform - divisions over immigration have also sharpened; the last comprehensive immigration reform bill was signed by President Reagan, and George W, Bush pushed for immigration reform throughout both of his terms, but grass-roots Republican hostility has grown in recent years, and they are implacably hostile to any form of ‘amnesty’ for ‘law-breakers’ . Democrats have been more sympathetic to reform, regarding a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants as both a practical and humane solution. This divide was evident in the controlled Senate in 2013 (with some Republican support) was never considered by the Republican- controlled House
• hate crime legislation - Republicans continue to oppose hate crime legislation
‘Political measures to promote racial equality are doomed to failure.’ Discuss.
Candidates will discuss the extent of the failure of political measure to promote racial equality, the reasons for such failure, and whether they are in any sense inevitable (‘doomed to failure’). These measures include:
Affirmative action;
Evidence that it has succeeded includes:
- there is a black president
- more blacks are in middle class white collar jobs than when affirmative action first began
- precise equality of outcome was never the goal of affirmative action, but rather making equality of opportunity more of a reality for minorities.
Evidence that it has failed includes:
- on every relevant measure, the black population continues to suffer disproportionate deprivation
- 50 years is a more than adequate time span for any social policy to be seen to be succeeding.
Reasons for its failure could be argued to be:
- it has entrenched racial divisions rather than erased them
- it has embittered the majority population and demotivated those it was supposed to benefit
- it fails to address the real causes of inequality
- it is too mild given the scale of the problem civil rights legislation.
Evidence that it has succeeded includes:
•high increase since the 1950s in black enfranchisement.
Evidence that it has failed includes:
- continuing disenfranchisement through criminal record
- Shelby County v. Holder reasons for its failure could be argued to be:
- Continuing Republican hostility;
- Busing.
Evidence that it has succeeded includes: reduction in segregation evidence that it has failed includes:
continuing de facto segregation reasons for its failure could be argued to be:
White hostility;
Majority-minority districts;
Evidence that it has succeeded includes:
Greater number of minority representatives;
Evidence that it has failed includes:
Minority representation in Congress still proportionately low reasons for its failure could be argued to be:
Now unconstitutional.
Explain the political impact of affirmative action since its introduction. (15 marks)
The political impact of affirmative action:
• initially there was bipartisan support for affirmative action programmes and both Presidents Johnson and Nixon oversaw their introduction;
• but since the 1970s it has contributed to party polarisation: the Republican Party has been hostile to affirmative action and the Reagan administration in particular actively sought to undermine it; since the Johnson presidency, the Democratic Party has been consistently sympathetic to affirmative action;
• it has caused problems for both parties in recent years: Democratic support and Republican hostility have become more muted recently as they seek to avoid antagonising key constituencies, with the result that in recent years affirmative action has largely disappeared from political campaigns;
• it was one of the factors prompting the defection of the ‘Reagan Democrats’ to the Republican Party in the 1980s
• it has given rise to a state-level resistance movement and there has been a series of referendums banning its use
• The Supreme Court has heard a succession of cases and it has become a significant part of the court’s agenda. The court has narrowed the scope of affirmative action schemes, adding to its reputation for controversy
• political representation – majority-minority districts have increased African- American representation in Congress. Sonia Sotomayor sees herself as a product of affirmative action.
‘Race has ceased to be a significant issue in US politics’. Discuss.
Arguments that race has ceased to be a significant issue in US politics include:
• race-based issues like affirmative action rarely feature in presidential or congressional election campaigns
• race-based issues are rarely part of the presidential or congressional agenda
• black and Latino representation in Congress is rising, and there is a black president
• inequality between the races is narrowing, and the political impact of inequality has recently centred round the ‘1% and 99%’ debate rather than race
Arguments that race is still an important issue include:
• overt racial references and exploitation of race in politics has been replaced by use of code words such as Newt Gingrich’s reference to President Obama as a ‘food stamp president’
• inequality between the races remains, and at times has political impact, e.g. in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
• racial tensions persist and occasionally receive national coverage, such as in the case of Trayvon Martin
• attempts by opponents to depict President Obama as un-American, e.g. as a socialist, a Muslim, influenced by ‘European’ ideologies, born outside the US etc. are arguably the product of racial antipathy
• increase in state requirements for voter ID seen by some as an attempt to suppress minority turnout
• presidents continue to signal their attitude to affirmative action, e.g. the Obama administration’s amicus curiae briefs in Fisher v Texas
• referendums attempting to ban affirmative action continue to be held at state level
• immigration continues to be a sensitive and high-profile issue
• black candidates continue to struggle in state-wide elections and there have only been nine black senators ever
