Lecture 19: Political Participation Beyond Voting

Forms of Political Participation

● Write letters to politicians

● Write op-eds to newspapers/social media

● Demonstrate/protest

● Attend town hall meetings

● Donate money

● Run for political office

Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s)

Dismantled institutionalized racial segregation through sit-ins, boycotts, protest marches, freedom rides

Women's Suffrage Movement

Won women's right to vote (19th Amendment, 1920)

Labor Movement (1930s)

Fair Labor Standards Act - minimum wage and 40-hour work week

LGBTQ+ Rights Movement

Supreme Court legalized gay marriage (2015)

Disability Rights Movement

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

#MeToo Movement

Legal reforms strengthening protections for victims

Black Lives Matter

Policy reviews and legislative changes in law enforcement

Civil Disobedience

• Breaking the law on purpose to bring about change in law or public policy

• Debate about whether nonviolence is required (usually considered definitional)

• Martin Luther King Jr.: Unjust laws must be opposed, even if it means breaking the law

Political Efficacy

A person's belief that they can influence public policy through political behaviors like voting, demonstrating, donating to candidates, and organizing collectively

Timeline of the Carceral State

● 1965: War on Crime - President Lyndon Johnson (D)

● 1968: Richard Nixon (R) victory

● 1970: Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act (expanded in 1980s)

● 1980: Ronald Reagan (R) victory

● 1982: War on Drugs

● National Defense Authorization of 1997: President Bill Clinton (D)

Three Institutions of the Carceral State

Police, courts, mass incarceration

Police

○ Daily public interactions with police

○ Police presence in schools

○ Police presence in public spaces

○ Avoiding police interactions

Courts

○ Access to (quality) legal counsel

○ Sentencing disparities

○ Monetary sanctions (fines, surveillance fees, etc.)

○ Legal debt (& interest)

○ Bail bonds

Mass Incarceration

○ Sentencing

○ Loss of productive years

○ Strain on family

○ Limited job opportunities

○ Low credit scores

○ Restrictions on voting

Impact on Political Participation

These systems create barriers that reduce political participation across the entire spectrum