politics

Bill Clinton

Democratic President of the United States, 1993–2001 Represents Democratic Party leadership during welfare reform debates (context for TANF and deservingness narratives)

John McCain

Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, 2008 election, Lost to Barack Obama in 2008

Responsible party model

A theory of democratic accountability, Voters reward or punish political parties based on performance, Difficult to achieve at the state level due to low political knowledge and federalism

Affective polarization

Strong emotional dislike of the opposing political party, Negative feelings, insults, moral judgments

Citizens United

Supreme Court decision (2010), Corporations have free speech rights → unlimited independent political spending

Citizen initiative process

Direct democracy mechanism, Allows citizens to bypass legislatures and place policies on ballots, Can be used to target marginalized groups

Election day registration

Allows voters to register and vote on the same day

Bloody Sunday

Violent police attack on civil rights marchers, Selma, Alabama, Directly contributed to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act

1965 Voting Rights Act

Landmark civil rights legislation, Protect voting rights of racial minorities

Shelby v. Holder

Supreme Court case (2013), weakened 1965 Voting Act, Reduced federal oversight of state election laws, Removed preclearance (Section 5) of the VRA

Shirley Chisholm

First Black woman elected to Congress, Key figure in representation and intersectionality discussions

Jesse Jackson

Civil rights leader and presidential candidate, Expanded political participation and Black political mobilization

Ronald McNair

Astronaut and physicist. Example of Black achievement amid systemic barriers

Yvette Clarke

Member of Congress from New York, Example of Black women’s pathways to political leadership

Congressional Black Caucus

Group of Black members of Congress, Advocate for policies affecting Black communities

Black Greek Letter Organizations

Historically Black fraternities and sororities

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Example of policy shaped by stereotypes and deservingness narratives

Answer whether the number of full-time reporters has a positive effect on whether people exhibit greater political knowledge

Yes, More full‑time statehouse reporters → higher public knowledge of state politics

Answer whether a unified state government has any bearing on whether people know more about state politics

Yes, People know more when one party controls the legislature and governorship

Identify if the number of local newspapers has increased, decreased, or remained stagnant in recent years

Decreased significantly This decline reduces political knowledge and accountability

Identify if people tend to know more about national politics, state politics, or if they are equally knowledgeable about national and state politics

National politics. Most people cannot name

Answer whether people ever evaluate state legislators based on their views of federal elected officials

Yes, Some voters rely on opinions of national figures when judging state officials

Explain the way that race impacted Obama’s vote share in the 2008 presidential election

Obama won, but underperformed expectations, Voters who believed Obama would “favor Blacks” were less likely to support him, even if they disliked the economy

Identify an explanation for why one study found that voter id laws suppress minority voter turnout, whereas another study found no evidence that racial minorities were harmed by voter id laws

One study examined strict voter ID laws, Another examined photo ID laws,. Strict laws are more likely to suppress minority turnout

Discuss the role that HBCUs play in the emergence of Black women members of Congress

HBCUs provide

Explain the difference between a strict and non-strict voter id law

Strict

Identify the state we discussed in class when discussing the impact that felony disenfranchisement laws have on voter turnout

Florida, Laws disproportionately affect Black and Latino voters

Explain why many pundits argue that Southern states differ from the rest of country when it comes to the restrictiveness of election administration laws

History of racial exclusion, Weakened Voting Rights Act oversight, More restrictive election administration laws

Discuss the racial makeup of HBCUs in 2022

Majority Black enrollment, Some increased racial diversity, but still primarily serve Black students

Discuss the impact of decreased funding for institutions of higher education in recent years

Increased tuition, Fewer resources, Inequitable access by race and class

Identify the primary way that school board members are selected in the US

Primarily through elections

Identify the region where HBCUs are most prevalent

Southern United States

Identify whether states differ in how they fund institutions of higher education

Yes, Large variation across states

Discuss how majority-minority districts impact the election of racial minorities

Increase likelihood of electing racial minorities, Direct result of Voting Rights Act protections

Explain how the “social construction of groups” is a framework that provides an explanation for why policies that help children are easier to advocate for than policies that help prisoners

Children = “deserving” → easier to pass supportive policies, Prisoners = “undeserving” → harder to advocate for resources

Explain how stereotypes impact the way people experience policing, paying particular attention to what constitutes a criminal profile

riminal profiles often racialized, Shape who is stopped, searched, or surveilled

Point to at least two ways in which intersectionality was engaged with in our unit on politics

Black women’s pathways to Congress (race + gender), Policing and criminal profiling, Race + gender + wealth