Race Chapter 3 - Politics and Civil Rights Movement PDF

CHAPTER 3 Politics The Civil Rights Movement One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, freedom still had not come to African Americans. − Jim Crow laws (social separation) − Sharecropping and debt (informal slavery) − Disenfranchisement Poll taxes Literacy tests...

CHAPTER 3 Politics The Civil Rights Movement One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, freedom still had not come to African Americans. − Jim Crow laws (social separation) − Sharecropping and debt (informal slavery) − Disenfranchisement Poll taxes Literacy tests Terrorism Literacy Test (Louisiana) The Civil Rights Movement National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Martin Luther King, Jr. Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) The Civil Rights Movement Nonviolent resistance − Montgomery bus boycott − “Sit-ins” at lunch counters The Civil Rights Movement Freedom Rides of 1961 The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) tested a new ruling that outlawed segregation in interstate bus terminals. Riders were beaten and buses were set on fire; President Kennedy sent federal marshals for protection. The Freedom Riders History - YouTube The Civil Rights Movement Freedom Summer, 1964 Increased voter registration Initiated Freedom Schools to bring education to poorest areas (serving over 3,000 students) The Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Act of 1964 The most important legislative effort to eradicate discrimination. It applies to all racial and ethnic minority groups, as well as women. Remember the legalistic fallacy: discrimination still occurs today. Black and White Registered Voters 1965 and 2004 The Civil Rights Movement Voting Rights Act of 1965 Banned literacy tests Abolished poll taxes Appointed federal examiners and observers The Civil Rights Movement American Indian Movement There is a long legacy of Indian rebellion and resistance. − Geronimo and the Ghost Dancers The Civil Rights Movement American Indian Movement American Indian activism was reenergized during the 1950s and 1960s. − Fish-ins − Property seizures − Occupation of Alcatraz Island − The Native American Resistance on Alcatraz - YouTube − Cultural revival The Civil Rights Movement Indian Termination Policy, 1940–1960s − Stated goal was “assimilation” into American society − Ended federal recognition of tribes − Made American Indians subject to state and federal laws − Terminated federal aid and services for people on tribal lands − Withdrew land from protected status; much of that land later sold to non-Indians − Increased poverty on the reservations The Civil Rights Movement Mexican Americans − César Chávez − United Farm Workers of America − Rufino Contreras murder The Civil Rights Movement Arab Americans − Pan-ethnic organization and mobilization in response to anti-Arab sentiment in the United States (1960s) The Civil Rights Movement Asian Americans − Third World Liberation Front − https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9m9dP_eU_Q Backlash: The Southern Strategy The Southern Strategy Rise of Republican Party in the South Rise of coded language and racial cues: “States’ rights” − George Wallace, Ronald Reagan Partisanship and Racial Polarization Since the 1970s, most white voters have supported the Republican Party. The majority of nonwhites are Democrats. In the 2008 election, 95 percent of black voters, 43 percent of white voters, and 67 percent of Latino voters voted for Obama. Although the majority of votes still are cast by white Americans, the white vote makes up a smaller share of the electorate each year. Political Representation Superficial representation − Diversity in skin color, but not necessarily diversity in political conviction. Substantive representation − Requires not only that political representatives be drawn from nonwhite communities but also that they be committed to working on behalf of those communities. Tokenistic fallacy Gerrymandering Gerrymandering: a set of processes by which elected politicians redraw and manipulate the borders of political districts to secure political advantage Although race-based gerrymandering is illegal, it continues. The Effects of Racial Attitudes on Voting Behavior As the size of the nonwhite population increases, so too does white voter turnout (threat hypothesis). In the post–Civil Rights Era, class-based voting has decreased, whereas race-based voting has increased. Racist attitudes were the strongest predictor of whether a voter supported President Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Whites disapprove of policies aimed at improving nonwhites’ quality of life and combating racial discrimination. Principle-Implementation Gap Most white Americans accept the principle of racial inclusion while rejecting many of the policy measures designed to carry this out. − Whites disapprove of discrimination in housing and racial segregation but also disapprove of federal programs aimed at combating these problems. − Most whites disapprove of racialized poverty but tend not to support race-based antipoverty programs. Most whites today explain racial disparities by pointing to individual failings, not systematic discrimination. Voter Intimidation Many people of color still face voter intimidation and suppression today. − In South Dakota, Native American voters were required to show a valid photo ID at the polling place or be turned away (2006). − In several of Philadelphia’s black neighborhoods, fliers “warning that people with outstanding warrants or unpaid parking tickets could be arrested if they show up at the polls on election day” (2008). − Various Twitter accounts circulated fliers that featured images of black and Latina women and the advice “Avoid the line, vote from home [by text],” which in reality was untrue (2016). Voter ID requirements tightened in 24 states − Minority citizens disproportionately lack photo identification. Felon Disenfranchisement 1 adult in every 40 citizens denied the right to vote because of felony convictions (most have already served their time) Felon disenfranchisement disproportionately affects people of color − In many states, these laws were adopted right after ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave black men the right to vote − Nationwide, one in seven black men are disenfranchised. (In some states, 1 in 4 black men cannot vote.) Election 2000: Had former felons been allowed to vote in Florida, Al Gore would have become president. Elections and Implicit Racial Appeals “Dog whistle” politics − Convey hidden messages inaudible to many people but readily “heard” and understood by numerous others, in whom are generated powerful, race-based responses − White voters need not be outspoken racists for racial appeals to resonate with them. Rely on white voters’ deep-seated racialized feelings − Coded language (“welfare queen,” “urban unrest,” “illegal immigrants,” “Islamic terrorists”) The Death of George Floyd and the BLM Movement May 25, 2020 Floyd was killed after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck Sparked national outrage 15 million Americans protested between June 4⎼10 (Pew) Calls to defund the police, end police brutality Protests turn violent, police respond with tear gas and rubber bullets BLM Movement - Aftermath Inspires: Native American-led demonstrations at Trump rally in Mt. Rushmore Minneapolis City Council votes to disband police department Confederate monuments moved to discrete places on Capitol Hill Mississippi state legislature votes to remove Confederate emblem from state flag City officials nationwide commission BLM street murals University buildings renamed Racialization and Politicization of COVID-19 Virus is racialized Trump calls coronavirus “China Virus” and “kung flu” on Twitter and during rallies 2,100 cases of anti-Asian hate crimes reported between March and July 2020 (Donahue, 2020) Precaution is politicized Anti-shutdown protests (noticeably majority white) White Americans and Republicans are less likely to wear a mask than nonwhite Americans and Democrats, respectively (Pew, 2020) Privilege of choosing not to wear a mask