AAS: Chapter 3

Civil Rights Movement

The national effort made by organizations and people who carried put political acts aimed at abolishing racial segregation, nonwhite disfranchisement, and racial economic exploitation.

Critical Race Theory

A body of legal scholarship aimed at explaining the persistence of racial inequality.

Racially Polarized

See racial polarization.

Racial Polarization

A correlational relationship between voters racial identity and whom they vote for.

Political Representation

The activity of integrating citizens perspectives and concerns in the public policy making process. Very few nonwhites are elected at the national, state, and local levels, resulting in the underrepresentation of nonwhite perspectives and concerns.

Gerrymandering

Processes dating back to the beginning of the 19th century in the US by which elected politicians redraw and manipulate the borders of political districts to secure political advantage.

Principle Implementation Gap

A paradox that explains the disconnect between most Americans acceptance of the principle of racial inclusion and their subsequent rejection of policy measures created to implement that inclusion.

Disfranchisement

The deprivation of minority groups or individuals of certain privileges, particularly the right to vote.

Coded Language

Indirect allusions to physical appearance, class upbringing, or sexual attractiveness thar give voice to dormant racialized dispositions (such as “welfare queen,” “illegal immigrants,” and “Islamic terrorists”).