Text Book - Racial and Ethnic Politics

Question 1

introduction

Answer 1

• generally, most liberals argue that minorities are at an inherent disadvantage due to the US’s history of racial discrimination which has left an existence of institutional racism and lack of opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities
• conservatives on the other hand who would argue that the USA has rid itself of raise and is today a post-racial society, in which there is true equality and opportunity for all! They point towards the increasing economic achievement and affluence among minorities as well as their growing political success
• liberals point towards the political and moral responsibility of the US government to redress the continuing barriers to educational and economic achievement facing minorities
• conservatives do not feel there is any justification for, and disagree with, any attempt by the government to introduce measures to rectify these historical issues of discrimination
• immigration reform: many conservatives work towards and advocate controlling immigration and securing US borders from illegal immigrants. They seek to close US border with Mexico to prevent further illegal immigration and to improve the law enforcement personnel in finding and deporting undocumented aliens working in the USA
• immigration reform: liberals would argue that immigrants are people with rights who are essential to a failing economy, and should therefore be encouraged to integrate with US society through a nationwide amnesty programme, supporting measures such as the DREAM act, which would give these undocumented aliens a pathway to citizenship

Question 2

history of inequality

Answer 2

• the US constitution enshrined slavery and excluded Native Americans from their rights given to the white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant Americans (WASPs), despite the Founding Fathers’ effort to create a political system which would protect and uphold the core values of individual liberty and equality of opportunity

Question 3

abolition of slavery and racial discrimination

Answer 3

• even though the American Civil War and the 13th amendment banned slavery, this did not see the end to racial discrimination
• black people’s right to vote was eroded
• a system of state laws were passed, known as the Jim Crow laws, which enforced segregation and made black people second-class citizens
• this was given constitutional protection by the SC: the 1896 Plessy v Ferguson case ruled in favour (7-1) requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of “separate but equal”.
• a segregated educational system, lack of economic opportunity, perpetuated their deprived position in political, social and economic terms.

Question 4

Civil Rights

Answer 4

• two key events led to a series of civil rights movements in the 1950s, protesting against racist laws:
  1. the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court verdict of 1954 overturned Plessy and declared the segregated schools and unconstitutional on the grounds that it was inherently unequal
  2. the Montgomery bus boycott challenged the segregation on Alabama’s bus network. Rosa Parks instigated this boycott by refusing to vacate her seat to a white man in 1954 and consequently gave birth to the Civil Rights movement
• the passage of Civil Rights Act 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 1965 marked an end to legal discrimination but questions still remain about who far this marked an end to discrimination for racial minorities in the USA

Question 5

ongoing inequalities

Answer 5

• liberal point towards the ongoing inequality in the USA today
• they highlight the existence of inequalities in the political, social and economic life chances of minorities (especially Latino and African Americans)
• they argue that these communities are at a fundamental disadvantage in modern America
• many minorities still remain under-represented at nearly every level of government: more than twice as many backs and Latinos living below the poverty line as whites, and vast differences in educational attainment between ethnic and racial groups

Question 6

Political Inequalities

Answer 6

• lack of political representation
• there are barriers to minority political achievement in the US political system which favours the wealthy white establishment at the expense of minorities
• examples include:
  1. the US population has 13% black people and 17% Latino, but despite this, the 113th Congress’ share of the seats in the House was only 9.4% for black people and 7.8% for Latinos
  2. there are only two Native Americans in Congress: Tom Cole and Markwayne Mullin
  3. only eight African Americans and nine Latinos have ever served in the US Senate
  4. much of the minority political representation in America is secured as a result of preferential redistricting and the creation of majority-minority districts, such as the Latino ‘earmuff district’ in Illinois, rather than race-less voting (?)

Question 7

Evidence of Social Problems

Answer 7

• the current situation for minority groups would suggest that they are at an inherent disadvantage compared to whites
• the existence of institutional racism in the USA, particularly within the education and criminal justice system
• evidence of lack of social opportunity:
  1. 1 in 10 white students achieve an advanced level in maths compared to just 1 in 50 Latinos and 1 in 100 African Americans
  2. 8.2% of white Americans are without a high school education compared to 16.2% of African Americans and 21% of Latinos
  3. while 1 in every 106 white males is incarcerated that figure is 1 in 36 for Latino males and 1 in 15 among African American males
  4. many argued that the 2012 Arizona v USA ruling, regarding the controversial Arizona SB1070 law, still allows law enforcement officials to stop and search anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant, which will perpetuate state-sanctioned profiling. Obama said ‘No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like’ which reflects these concerns about racial profiling

Question 8

Evidence of economic disparities

Answer 8

• there still exists a huge economic disparity in the positions of African Americans and Latinos
• evidence:
  1. recent unemployment rates stood at 13.8% for blacks, 9.7% for Latinos, but just 6.8% for whites
  2. growing wealth gap between white and African-American families, which nearly tripled between 1984 and 2009 from $85,000 to $236,500
  3. net worth of white families is nearly six times as large as that of other minorities, and in particular they have over ten times more financial assets than black and latino families

Question 9

Post-racial America

Answer 9

• in New Republican in 2000, entitled ‘Race Over’, black Harvard professor Orlando Paterson claimed that race is no longer an issue in America, given the dramatic gains made by African Americans since the 1970s
• many conservatives point towards the advances that racial and ethnic minorities have made

Question 10

Evidence of political success

Answer 10

• there is evidence of minority political representation across America, suggesting that America has ridden itself of the legacy of slavery and discrimination to become a truly colour-blind society
• evidence:
  1. there are notable minorities in high up positions in government. Not only Obama’s successful bid for presidency is an example, but the leading minority politicians such as Latino senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. The success of two African Americas in the 2012 elections was also notable - South Carolina’s Tim Scott and Mo Cowan in Massachusetts
  2. there is larger minority representation in presidential appointments to the Supreme Court with justices such as African-American Clarence Thomas and Latino Sonia Sotomayor
  3. in 2009 Colorado, despite having only a 4% black population, became the first state in which both the state legislative leaders were African American. Similarly, in the Deep South state of Alabama, where 26.5% of the population is black African Americans hold 23% of the seats on the seats on the state legislature

Question 11

Evidence of social advancement

Answer 11

1. 2013 report from the Department of Education showed the highest graduation rates among minorities since the 1970s, with 93.5% of Asian-American, 71.4% of Latino and 66.1% of African-American students graduating.
2. Pew Hispanic Centre found that in 2011 only 14% of Latinos dropped out of high school, half the level of 2000 (28%)
3. a number of states have introduced policies to advance racial diversity in education e.g. the Texan Ten Percent Plan guarantees students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class automatic admission to all state-funded universities

Question 12

Evidence of economic achievement

Answer 12

• conservatives argue that the existence of an increasingly affluent black middle class, as well as the success of many other minority groups, is evidence that there are no longer any barriers to economic achievement
• examples include:
  1. the buying power of minorities has grown hugely in the last decade with the Latino market accounting for $1.2 trillion in 2012 while African-American buying power increased by 73% between 2000 and 2012
  2. there has been a 61% increase in black-owned businesses in the 5-year period between 2002 and 2007
  3. In 2010, 45% of blacks and 47% of Latinos owned their own home

Question 13

Affirmative Action

Answer 13

• AA is the preferential treatment to minorities in admissions to universities or employment opportunities for government and private businesses
• it refers to a range of policies originally developed to correct decades of discrimination and to give disadvantaged minorities a boost
• liberals argue that the programme has been a success
• conservatives think the policies were never, or are no longer, needed and that they lead to more problems than they resolve

Question 14

History of Affirmative Action

Answer 14

• despite the Civil Rights Act 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 1965 freeing america from legal discrimination and creating equality of opportunity, minority groups, African Americans in particular, were at an historic disadvantage, as they lagged behind whites in terms of income, employment and educational attainment
• the 1964 and 1965 Acts for many were the beginnings, not the end, of a campaign for equality
• a series of policies were adopted that became known as affirmative action, measure ranging from to target job adverts at minorities to giving quotas and preference to these groups

Question 15

Restrictions to affirmative action

Answer 15

• many saw affirmative action as merely reverse discrimination
• since 1978 a series of Supreme Court decisions have gone some way to water down and limit the forms of affirmative action deemed constitutional, without explicitly declaring affirmative action to be unconstitutional
• by 2010 at least five states had seen the successful introduction of measures to ban affirmative action, including Michigan Proposal 2, banning its use in public employment, education or contracting in 2006, and Arizona Proposition 10 which was passed by a vote of over 60% in 2010

Question 16

Supreme Court decisions to restrict AA:

Regents of the University of California v Bakke (1978)

Answer 16

• this case accept that race could be one factor, among many, in university admissions but could not directly disadvantage majority applicants

Question 17

Supreme Court decisions to restrict AA:

Adarand Constructors v Pena (1995)

Answer 17

• this case reestablished the need for ‘strict scrutiny’ to ensure that federal affirmative action programmes had a specific purpose and justification

Question 18

Supreme Court decisions to restrict AA:

Gratz v Bollinger (2003)

Answer 18

• this case declared that the University of Michigan’s racial quota system of admissions unconstitutional as it was ‘too mechanistic’ in awarding all minorities 20 of the 150 points needed for admission

Question 19

Supreme Court decisions to restrict AA:

Grutter v Bollinger (2003)

Answer 19

• this case ruled that the University of Michigan’s Law School admissions program was constitutional as it used an ‘individualised’ affirmative action programme, in which race was only a ‘plus factor’
• although it upheld as constitutional the continued use of certain affirmative action programmes, it did suggest that this may only be necessary for a further 25 years

Question 20

Arguments against affirmative action:

Answer 20

1. Reverse discrimination: many conservative think that affirmative action lead to rich minorities being given preference over poor white applicants
   - the black middle class take advantage of this system
   - the target should be the very poor inner city children
   - AA fails as it simply perpetuates a small african-american middle class
2. No longer needed: need is over due to advent of a black middle class and certain African American individuals (such as Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama)
   - these individuals show that its possible to succeed and climb the social ladder and rise to the top
3. Prevents a truly colour-blind society: some, like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, argue affirmative action is condescending and insulting; in fact he stated ‘Any effort, policy or program that in some way accepts the notion that Blacks are inferior is a non-starter with me’
   - some argue that AA is a breach of the 14th Amendment’s equal protecting clause and to recognise race as a factor must be unconstitutional
4. Dependency culture and perpetuates racial divisions: popular with the ‘new right’ in the 1980s
   - African Americans are damaged by this as they become dependent and do not develop the motivation to succeed in a competitive society
   - whilst well intentioned, the system is detrimental to those who are being helped

Question 21

Arguments in favour of affirmative action

Answer 21

1. Promotes diversity: in her dissenting opinion, in the 2013 Fisher v Texas ruling, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg wrote about the ‘educational benefits of a student body diversity’
   - 2013 saw the highest graduation rates among minorities since the 1970s
   - 71.4% Latinos and 66.1% African Americans are graduating
   - political representation shown by the presidency of Obama and various ethnic minority representatives such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio
2. Racism still exists: racial profiling is an indicator that racism still exists
   - Arizona v Usa ruling still allows border officials to stop and search those suspected of being an undocumented immigrant, thus perpetuating state sanctioned profiling
   - Affirmative Action promotes diversity in education and work thus breaking down racial barriers
3. America is still de facto segregated: in modern America many ethnic groups still live in effectively segregated cities such as Baltimore and Atlanta, thus perpetuating racial problems and preventing integration
4. Compensation: in the words of President Johnson, at Howard University in 1960, ‘it is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates’
   - AA is a form of reparations for slavery
   - paying out sums of money to african americans is too difficult as the sums are too big
   - the next best thing is to create a system that recognises the disadvantages that slavery and segregation created

Question 22

individual and group views on affirmative action

Answer 22

1. Nancy Pelosi: former Democrat House Speaker, in a statement following the Fisher v Texas ruling, reaffirmed her support for affirmative action by stating that ‘government entities must not be blind to the lingering effects of discrimination in the past’
2. Obama: said in 2009 that although ‘crude quotas’ were unconstitutional, he still supported, in certain circumstances, ‘taking into account issues of past discrimination’ and the role of affirmative action in ensuring the ‘diversity of a workforce or a student body’
3. Rand Paul: Republican Senator for Kentucky, supports repeal of all measure and suggested in 2010 that private businesses should be free to choose employees without any restrictions, even if this could be deemed discriminatory

Question 23

Alternatives to Affirmative Action: abolition

Answer 23

1. recently there has been a strong push in many states to ban affirmative action, involving racial or gender preferences
   - much of this has been a reaction to the controversial and unprecedented decisions in the Bollinger cases, sponsored by the conservative pressure group the Centre for Individual Rights, which effectively declared ‘mechanistic’ racial quotas unconstitutional, without specifically declaring affirmative action unconstitutional
   - in particular the Grutter v Bollinger case by a slender 5-4 majority upheld affirmative action but stated that admissions must be flexible, and reaffirmed that they could not be crude quotas, because race must be considered as one among many other admission criteria
2. Many conservative groups, such as the Center for Equal Opportunity, call for a complete ban on all forms of affirmative action and have led attempts to legally challenge it
3. Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, decided in 1999 to abolish affirmative action with his ‘One Florida’ initiative. Although this led to widespread demonstrations, conservatives would counter criticisms with the fact that over the decade from 1999 to 2009, total state enrolment among Latinos rose from 13.8% to 18% while black enrolment remained relatively static at 13.6%

Question 24

Alternatives to Affirmative Action: class and income-based action

Answer 24

• some opponents to affirmative action argue that it benefits middle and upper-class minorities at the expense of lower-class caucasians
• some argue that there is a need for class-based or income-based affirmative action which does not consider race or ethnicity.
• Richard Kahlenberg wrote in the Washington Post in 2012 for the liberal think tank The Century Foundation called for universities to ‘vigourously pursue race-neutral alternatives such as socioeconomic affirmative action’
• BUT the African American Policy Forum believes that ‘Race-conscious affirmative action remains necessary to address race-based obstacles’

Question 25

Alternatives to Affirmative Action: school and cultural reform

Answer 25

• many conservatives argue that the inability of minorities to compete is because those minorities need to be ‘Americanised’ and encouraged to conform more closely to the mainstream cultural norms of the USA
• the Texan Ten Percent Plan ensures that minority students are not competing with students from schools that are better funded and resourced
• since its introduction total admissions of Latinos to Texas universities have jumped from 14% in 1996 to 24% in 2012

Question 26

Alternatives to Affirmative Action: reparations

Answer 26

• since 1989 Congressman John Conyers Jnr from Michigan has introduced a bill every year to study the case for reparations
• he urges the federal government to undertake a thorough review which will lead to financial compensation to the descendants of African slavery
• though calls for reparations do not hold widespread appeal in America, the ‘Millions for Reparations’ march, in 2002, did see over 50,000 people descend on Washington DC

Question 27

Immigration

Answer 27

• immigration is becoming a deeply divisive issue
• especially given the growing importance of the Latino vote in many states along the Mexican border
• there are over 11.2 million, mostly Latino, illegal immigrants
• the Mexican-American population has grown by over 11.4 million in the last decade
• conservatives see it as strictly an issue of controlling immigration and securing US borders from illegal immigrants
• liberals claim that immigrants are people with rights who are essential to a failing economy, and who therefore should be encouraged to integrate with US society through a nationwide amnesty

Question 28

Immigration Reform

Answer 28

1. DREAM Act (since 2001): This would have given citizenship to those who had been brought into the USA as minors and had subsequently graduated from high-school and university or undertaken 2 years’ military service
2. Bush ‘guest worker’ scheme (2004): this allowed a range of immigrants, in shortage areas, to gain temporary work visas
3. Secure Fences Act (2006): this aimed to improve border defences by building a 700-mile fence along the US border with Mexico, and widening other security measures
4. Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (2006): this looked to both increase border security and provide a path to citizenship for long-term undocumented immigrants, while also extending the ‘guest worker’ scheme

Question 29

Immigration Reform: Amnesty

Answer 29

• the largest Latino pressure group in the USA, the National Council of La Raza, have called for a path to citizenship for the existing 11.2 million undocumented immigrants in the USA, which was the basis for the bipartisan DREAM Act
• but the bill that was passed by the House in December 2010 failed to overcome a filibuster led by Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who argued that the bill amounted to a reward for lawbreaking
• some Republicans have looked to relax their attitudes towards immigration - GOP presidential hopeful Marco Rubio was quick to defend his plans for a comprehensive immigration reform package, stating that it would end de facto amnesty by recognising ‘the reality that they are not going home’
• other Republicans were angry that the proposed Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernisation Act of 2013 would be merely ‘another amnesty’ that would be detrimental to the USA

Question 30

Immigration Reform: Border

Answer 30

• many conservatives wish to strengthen border control, placing greater focus on policing the borders, with tighter immigration laws requiring local law-enforcement officials to question those they suspect of law-breaking, and harsher penalties for those found employing undocumented immigrants
• BUT the recent Arizona v USA Supreme Court ruling severely restricted the Arizona SB1070 law, which looked to take a harsh line on immigration
• the conflict between state and federal laws was seen in the verdict of Justice Kennedy, who wrote the ‘State may not pursue policies that undermine federal law’
• in response to the ruling, Obama was quick to call for Congress to adopt a comprehensive, and national, immigration reform package as he claimed ‘the patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system’

Question 31

partisan nature of immigration debate

Answer 31

• no action has been taken by the Obama administration against sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with the federal government on immigration matters
• sanctuary cities: a term given to a city which protects illegal immigrants. This is usually through the process of not enforcing federal immigration laws, by preventing police or municipal employees from inquiring about immigration status
• increasing significance of this issue is highlighted by the fact that some have called immigration ‘the new slavery’, in the way that it has come to divide America
• thus future elections will in part be fought by those liberals who feel immigration is a national issue, and support the party to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and those conservatives who fear ‘big government’, and invoke the rights of states in deciding their own approach to dealing with immigration

Question 32

Latino political significance

Answer 32

• Latino vote in 2012 amounted to 10% of all voters
• there is an estimated 8.3 million eligible, but unregistered, Latino voters, and roughly 50,000 new Latinos reach voting age each month in the USA
• Latinos are the largest single minority voting group
• there has been a 43% increase in the Latino population in America, between 2000 and 2010, means that they are clearly a rising demographic who look set to have an increasing share of the vote in future years
• given that New Mexico was won fairly comfortably by Obama in 2012 it would suggest that they are an important group for the main parties to target in order to secure electoral victory