Race, Public Opinion, and Policy

Flashcards for reviewing key concepts related to race, public opinion, policy preferences, and related topics.

Civil War + subsequent abolition of slavery

Event led Black Americans to support the Republican party en masse in the 1800s

Great Depression

Event that began to shift blacks’ support from the Republican party to the Democratic party

Civil Rights Act of 1964/ outlawing discrimination

Legislation that solidified African Americans’ support for the Democratic party by outlawing discrimination

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that solidified African Americans’ support for the Democratic party by creating method of enforcement for the 15th amendment

Public Opinion

The various attitudes or views large communities of people hold about politics and the actions of government

Political Socialization

The process through which people learn their beliefs, values, and behaviors about politics that shape public opinion

Political Ideology

Attitudes and beliefs that help shape our opinions on political theory and policy

Primacy Principle

What is learned first tends to leave a strong and lasting impression that remains with a person throughout life

Linked Fate

Notion that what happens to one member of the group impacts all members of the group

Racial Threat Hypothesis

The larger a population of a minoritized group, the more the majority group aims to exert social control

Collective Racial Memory

Historical events shape the political views of immediate and succeeding generations

Southern Strategy

Political strategy to use racial symbols and coded language to draw support from prejudiced white Southern voters

Racial covenants

Instructions written into home deeds preventing the home be sold to certain minorities

Racial Steering

When realtors steer certain families to live in certain neighborhoods based on race

Blockbusting

Practice where realtors encourage white families to sell their homes at a low price when a Black family moves into the neighborhood

Redlining

Discriminatory practice in which a mortgage lender denies home loans based on the racial characteristics of a community

Sundown Towns

Municipalities that practiced racial segregation by excluding non-whites

Environmental Racism

Native Americans are more likely to live in areas with hazardous waste sites and minorities are more likely to live in food deserts.

Food Deserts

Low-income areas with little or no access to nutritious and affordable food products. These areas are oftentimes riddles with gas stations and fast food.

Affirmative Action

Policy of admission aimed to increase representation of women and people of color in higher education

Forced Busing

Students were transported by bus to schools outside their local neighborhoods in order to desegregate public schools.

Segregation Academies

Private schools established to avoid racial integration after public schools were ordered to desegregate

Critical Theory

Examines power structures and institutions to understand how they perpetuate inequality

Critical Race Theory

Examines the relationship between race, racism, and institutional power

Interest Convergence

Advancements in race relations occur when they serve the interests of the dominant white ruling class

Intersectionality

Citizens can have multiple marginalized identities based on race, gender, LGBTQ status, etc.

Black-White Binary

Society views Black and White people as the two primary racial groups

Slave Patrols

First form of policing in America, created to search for and return runaway slaves

Black Codes

Laws created to continue disenfranchising former slaves from their newly secured freedom

Broken Windows Policing

Low-level crime creates an environment that encourages more serious crimes.

Police Abolition

Idea that policing is fundamentally rooted in systems of oppression and cannot be reformed

Great Depression

A major event that shifted Black Americans' support to the Democratic Party

Southern Strategy

Nixon's political tactic using racial symbols to attract white Southern voters

Redlining

Discriminatory housing practice denying loans based on neighborhood racial composition

Food Deserts

Areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food

Environmental Racism

Disproportionate exposure of minority communities to environmental hazards

Brown v. Board of Education

Supreme Court case that overturned 'separate but equal' doctrine in schools

Critical Race Theory

Theoretical framework examining systemic racism in laws and institutions

Mass Incarceration

Extreme rates of imprisonment in the U.S., disproportionately affecting minorities

1994 Crime Bill

Federal legislation that increased incarceration rates and punitive measures

Defunding the Police

Reallocating police budgets to social services to address root causes of crime

Public Opinion

Collective attitudes of people about politics and government

Political Socialization

Process of learning beliefs, values, and behaviors about politics

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal law protecting the right to vote, especially for racial minorities

Political Ideology

Set of beliefs and values shaping opinions on political theory and policy

Racial Steering

Guiding prospective homebuyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on race

Blockbusting

Manipulating homeowners to sell properties cheaply due to fear of minority influx

Sundown Towns

All-white communities that historically excluded non-whites after dark

Legacy Admissions

Preferential college admissions for relatives of alumni

Intersectionality

Overlapping and interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, creating discrimination or disadvantage

Interest Convergence

Advancements for marginalized groups often occur when aligning with the interests of dominant groups

Colorblindness

Disregarding race in policy and practice, often criticized for perpetuating inequality

Black Codes

Restrictive laws targeting African Americans after the Civil War

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States

Slave Patrols

Organized groups that enforced slavery by apprehending runaway slaves

Rockefeller Drug Laws

Strict drug laws in New York State with severe penalties for drug possession and sale

Three Strikes Law

Laws imposing harsher penalties for repeat offenders

Stop and Frisk

Police practice of temporarily detaining, questioning, and searching individuals

Broken Windows Policing

Addressing minor offenses to prevent more serious crimes

Police Abolition

Eliminating policing and replacing it with community-led safety initiatives

White Flight

The large-scale migration of white people from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions.

Grandfather Clause

Statutory or constitutional mechanism enacted by several Southern states of the United States during the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877) and the early 20th century

Vagrancy Laws

Laws enacted during the Reconstruction Era in the United States with the purpose of punishing unemployed African Americans.

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

Legislation instated stricter penalties for crack cocaine use than for powder cocaine use.

The 1994 Crime Bill

Formally known as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, this legislation mandated sentences offenders must serve

Truth in Sentencing Provision

provision mandates offenders serve a majority of their sentence in jail to prevent early release

Southern Strategy

Describes the political strategy to use racial symbols and coded language to draw support from prejudiced white Southern voters

Alvarez v. Lemon Grove (1931)

Lemon Grove was a small community that did not have segregated schools, Parents sued and the court sided with parents → Mexicans were considered White under the state’s Education Code.

Gaines v. Canada (1938)

Lloyd Gaines sued the University of Missouri Law School because he was denied admission due to his race. Court ruled that states that don’t have educational institutions for African Americans must admit Black students