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50 Terms
Reconstruction
Who: Radical Republicans in Congress, freed Black Americans, Andrew Johnson, white Southern elites
What: Rebuilding and constitutional transformation after the Civil War, federal military occupation of the South, establishment of basic civil/political rights
Where: American South
When: 1865-1877
Why: Aimed to integrate Confederate states back into the Union and define citizenship and political rights for formerly enslaved people, ended due to white violent backlash and waning Northern political will = rise to Jim Crow
14th Amendment
Who: Congress, Andrew Johnson
What: Reconstruction amendment, establishing birthright citizenship, due process, equal protection under law for all people regardless of race
Where: United States
When: Ratified 1868
Why: Provides constitutional safeguard against Black Codes
15th Amendment
Who: US Congress, benefited newly free Black men
What: Reconstruction constitutional amendment, prohibited government from denying the right to vote based on race, color, previous condition of servitude
Where: Untied States
When: Ratified 1870
Why: Allow Black men to participate in democracy, protect Republican electoral power in reconstructed South, however there were loopholes that Southern states exploited with poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses
Dispossession by Administration
Who: Bureaucrats, local admin, clerks, registrar officials - targeted Black/minority populations
What: Minority citizens stripped of rights, resources, land - poll taxes, grandfather clause, literacy tests, etc.
Where: Across US, particularly Jim Crow south and rural agricultural communities
When: Post-reconstruction throughout 20th century
Why: Institutions maintain racial hierarchies throughout seemingly neutral administrative procedures rather than overt discriminatory laws
Democratic White Primary
Who: Democratic Party in Southern States, Black voters, civil rights litigators
What: Bar Black citizens from voting in Democratic primary elections
Where: The American South
When: Late 1890s-1944
Why: One-party "solid south" - winning Democratic primary = winning general election, so by excluding Black voters from the primary effectively disenfranchised them entirely
19th Amendment and Black Women's Suffrage
Who: Suffragists, Black Woman Activists
What: Gave women the right to vote - for Black women it was a partial victory due to Jim Crow restrictions
Where: United States
When: Ratified 1920
Why: Intersection of race and gender in policy history, whtie women achieved general acess to the ballot, Black women continued fighting until the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Who: Civil rights workers and activists
What: Grassroots political party formed to challenge legitimacy and seating of the all-white segregationist Mississippi Dem. party
Where: New Jersey and Mississippi
When: 1964
Why: Exposed national Democratic Party's moral concessions to Southern segregationists, forced future national convention rules to mandate integrated delegations by 1968
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Who: Civil rights leaders, drafted under JFK, signed by Johnson
What: Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, etc., established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Where: Washington DC, affected the entire US
When: 1964
Why: Dismantled Jim Crow segregation across the South and restructured workplace rights using Commerce Clause and 14th Amendment
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Who: LBJ, civil rights activists, MLK Jr, bipartisan congressional coalitions
What: enforced 15th Amendment by banning literacy tests, authorized federal voting examiners, imposed federal oversight over jurisdictions with histories of discrimination
Where: United States (concentrated in the Deep South)
When: 1965
Why: Overcome systematic state-level resistance to Black voter registration, leading to an immediate surge in Black voter turnout and elected officials
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Who: All states, counties, local jurisdictions
What: A permanent, nationwide ban on any voting standard, practice, or procedure that results in the blocking or abridgment on the right to vote on account of race and color
Where: Nationwide
When: Enacted in 1965
Why: Serves as the primary tool against electoral redistricting plans and voting rules that dilute minority voting strength
Section 5 - preclearance of the Voting Rights Act
Who: Covered jurisdictions (primarily Southern states/selected counties), and the federal government (US DOJ and US District Court for DC
What: Required specific jurisdictions to obtain federal approval (preclearance) before implementing any change to their voting laws in order to ensure that the change does not have a discriminatory purpose or retrogressive effect
Where: Specified states and counties identified by the coverage formula in section 4b
When: 1965-2013 - immobilized by Shelby County v. Holder
Why: Stopped discriminatory voting procedures before they could take effect rather than forcing victims into length litigation
Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
Who: Shelby County, vs. US attorney general Eric Holder, US Supreme Court (5-4 Decision)
What: Section 4b of voting rights act as unconstitutional (preclearance), ruling that its coverage formula was outdated and violated the equal sovereignty of states
Where: US Supreme Court, Washington DC
When: 2013
Why: Rendered section 5's preclearance requirement inoperable, allowing jurisdiction previously subject o federal oversight to immediately enact strict voter ID laws, voter roll purges, and restrictive district maps without prior federal review
Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (2021)
Who: Arizona Attorney General Brnovich vs. Democratic National Committee (6-3 decision)
What: SCOTUs decision upholding 2 Arizona restrictions - banning ballot collection and discarding out of precinct provisional ballots - establishing 5 conservative guideposts that raise the evidentiary bar for challenging time, place, and manner rules under SEction 2
Where; SCOTUS, Arizona
When: 2021
Why: Made it much harder for plaintiffs to invalidate restriction election laws based on disparate racial impact alone
Allen v. Milligan (2023)
Who: Alabama Sec. of State vs. Black Alabama Voters (5-4 opinoin)
What: SCOTUS ordered Alabama to draw a second congressional district with a Black voting-age population close to a majortiy
Where: SCOTUS (Alabama)
When: 2023
Why: Rebuffed conservative push to ban consideration of race entirely in redistricting, upholding section 2 as a vital shield against racial vote dilution in legislative mapmaking
Louisiana v. Callais (2026)
Who: State of Louisiana, civil rights intervenors, non-minority voters (6-3)
What: SCOTUS decision holding that Louisiana's remedial congressional map drawn with a second-majority Black district following section 2 challenges was unconstitutional racial gerrymandering under the equal protection clause
Where: SCOUTS, Louisiana
When: 2026
Why: Restricted how states/plaintiffs used Section 2 to create majority/minority remedial districts (neutralizes section 2)- weakened voting rights (section 2 of the VRA), higher burden of proof, loss of representation, permits systematic vote dilution
Bradley Wilder Effect/Social Desirability Bias
Who: Named after Tom Bradley and Douglas Wilder
What: Polling discrepancy where non-white candidates poll higher than actual election day results because pollled voters give "social acceptable" answers to pollsters to avoid appearing prejudiced
Where: US
When: coined in 1980s, analyzed during 2008 Obama campaign
Why: Social desirability bias skews political measurement, conceals influence of racial attitudes in voting behavior
Interest Convergence Principle
Who: Derrick Bell, founding scholar of Critical Race Theory
What: Legal theory, Black civil rights progress is only achieved when minority interests align or converge with self-interests of the white ruling class
Where: US legal academia
When: Bell's 1980 Harvard Law Review article on Brown v. Board
Why: Argued that Brown was decided because of Cold War foreign policy, America needed to counter Soviet propaganda regarding racial apartheid rather than pure ethics/morals
Linked Fate Theory (Black Utility Heuristic)
Who: Black individuals/voters
What: Theory that individual Black voter perceives their own personal life choices/well-being as being directly linked to collective social and economic status of the broaders racial group (Linked fate), therefore using group interest as an information proxy or shortcut (black utility heuristic) when casting ballots
Where: United States
When: Late 1900s (1990s)
Why: Explains African American voter behavior - demonstrating strong cohesive voting behavior (~90% democratic) across diverse income, class, educational lines
Disparate Racial Impact
Who: Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964, SCOTUS ruling Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971)
What: Legal/policy doctrine recognizing discrimination when alleged race-neutral practices, tests, or rules disproportionately exclude/harm a protected racial class with adequate necessity or justification
Where: Federal civil rights law, labor markets, housing, and voting
When: Adopted by SCOTUS in 1971, Civil Rights Act of 1991
Why: Distinguishes between intentional discrimination and structural barriers - establishing that policy outcomes - not just stated intentions - matter under civil rights law
Targeted Universalism
Who: coined by legal scholar/civil rights theorist John A. Powell (UC Berkeley)
What: Policy framework setting universal goals for all members of society while employing targeted strategies and resources tailored specifically to the unique needs, historic disadvantages, and contexts of diff. groupws
Where: Public policy, civil rights theory
When: Developed in the late 200s
Why: Replaces rigid universalism (treats everyone the same regardless of starting point/exacerbates inequality) and narrow targeted programs
Situational Deracialization
Who: Political scientists
What: Strategic political approach where minority political candidates deliberately downplay race-specific grievances, systematic racism, civil rights demands in favor of broad, non-threatening economic/civic themes to build cross racial coalitions
Where: US Electoral politics
When: 1980s- 2008 Obama campaign and beyond
Why: Reflects electoral dilemma faced by Black politicians - running on explicit racial equity platforms risks alienating moderate white moderate voters, while deracialization risks neglecting core minority constituency issues
Voter Dilution
Who: Election officials/legislation mapmakers acting against minority voting population
What: Electoral mechanisms that weaken or minimize collective strength of a minority group's vote ("cracking" a minority community across multiple districts to keep them below a majority, or "packing" them into a single super concentrated district to waste votes)
Where: State/local election districts across the US
When: Post 15th amendment through modern redistricting cycles
Why: Deprives protected minority communities of the fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choice even when physical access to the ballot is unblocked
Structural Factors and Political Participation
Who: Scholars of political science/civic engagement studying marginalized populations
What: Institutional, economic, logistical rules that shape voter turnout and engagement (voter registration deadlines, felon disenfranchisement, availability of early voting, polling location closures, public transit access, paid time off to vote)
Where: Federal, state, local election administration
When: Throughout US voting history
Why: Demonstrates how disparities in voter turnout are not merely individual choices, but a direct consequence of state policy designs that disproportionately place burdens on low-income, hourly wage, minority citizens
A. Philip Randolph
Who: Prominent Black labor leader, civil rights strategist
What: Organized the March on Washington Movement (941) that pressured FDR into desegregating defense industries, and later served as director of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Where: Harlem, New York and Washington, DC
When: 1920s through 1960s (notably 1941 and 1963)
Why: Pioneered direct-action movement organizing in the Black freedom struggle, proved that organized Black labor could force concessions from the executive branch (FDR)
March on Washington Movement (1941)
Who: A. Philip Randolph, Walter White, targeted FDR
What: Planned mass mobilization of 50,000-100,000 African Americans to converge on the nation's capital to demand the desegregation of the defense industry and armed forces
Where: Washington DC
When: Summer of 1941
Why: Convinced FDR that a segregated capital spectacle would undermine American wartime moral standing, Randolph called off the march in exchange for Roosevelt issuing Executive Order 8802
Executive Order 8802
Who: Issued by FDR
What: Presidential order prohibiting the segregation/racial discrimination in the national defense industry and establishing the Committee on Fair Employment Practice (FEPC)
Where: Executive Office of the President, Washington DC
When: Signed in summer 1941
Why: First presidential action on civil rights since reconstruction, demonstrating the presidency's ability to to reshape federal economic policy through unilateral executive power under pressure
Committee on Fair Employment Practice (FEPC)
Who: Established by FDR via EO 8802
What: Federal oversight committee tasked with investigating and combating racial discrimination within defense contractors and war industries
Where: Nationwide
When: 1941-1946 (defunded by Congress after WW2)
Why: While it had limited enforcement powers, it set the precedent for federal affirmative administrative actions against private-sector discrimination and paved the way for Title VII and EEOC
Executive Power/ Executive Orders
Who: The President of the United States
What: Directives issued by the President that direct federal agencies and carry the force of federal law
Where: The Executive Branch.
When: Throughout U.S. history (especially prominent from FDR onward)
Why: Has served as a primary bypass mechanism to advance civil rights when congressional action is paralyzed by Southern filibusters or partisan gridlock
GI Bill/ Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)
Who: Passed by Congress, signed by FDR, aimed at returning WW2 military veterans
What: Federal legislation providing veterans with funds for college tuition, low-interest home and business mortgages, and unemployment stipends
Where: US
When: Summer 1944
Why: Transformed the American middle class; because it was administered through decentralized state/local authorities and private banks, Black veterans were systematically denied home loans and restricted from entering segregated colleges
Race-Neutral Policy and Racially Unequal Outcomes
Who: Policymakers, state bureaucracies, marginalized populations
What: Phenomenon where legislation written without explicit racial classifications creates/widens racial disparities because it interacts with pre-existing, structurally unequal systems
Where: American social policy
When: Throughout 20th century social safety net development (New Deal, GI bill, etc.)
Why: Foundational concept in policy analysis showing that neutral language in legislation does not ensure equality on execution or outcome
Secondary Implementers
Who: Local administrators, private banks, state-level agencies, real estate brokers, and city housing authorities.
What: Non-federal or sub-national actors tasked with administering, executing, or distributing federally funded programs and policies.
Where: State and municipal levels.
When: Constant throughout modern federal policy implementation.
Why: Explains how progressive federal mandates (such as the GI Bill, New Deal housing programs, or Medicaid) were systematically blunted or racially segregated at the point of delivery through local discretion.
Truman Committee on Civil Rights (EO 9981)
Who: President Truman, President's Committee on Civil Rights
What: Presidential advisory group recommending the desegregation of the military, anti-lynching laws, fair employment policies --> led to EO 9981
Where: Washington DC
When: Committee formed 194, EO 9981 - 1948
Why: Integrated US Armed forces, first major post war federal executive desegregation and establishing civil rights as a core pillar of the national democratic presidential platform
Kerner Commission (LBJ/EO 11365)
Who: Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, created by President LBJ
What: National Adivosry Commission on Civil Disorders, appoitned to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in Detroit, Newark, other American cities
Where: Washington DC and urban centers nationwide
When: Mid 1967- early 1968
Why: Concluded that "our nation is moving towards 2 societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal" - implicating white racism, police brutality, systemic poverty, etc. - though LBJ largely shelved its radical spending recommendations
Great Society/War on Poverty
Who: LBJ, Federal program administrators
What: Series of domestic policy initiatives aimed at eradicating poverty/racial injustice through federal investments in healthcare (Medicare/Medicaid), education (Head Start), community development, civil rights
Where: Nationwide, focused on depressed urban/rural areas
When: 1964-1968
Why: High point of government programs designed to help Americans in need, funding drained by expanding costs of Vietnam War
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
Who: Signed by LBJ
What: Centerpiece legislation of War on Poverty, established Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), Job Corps, Legal Services, Community Action Programs (CAPs)
Where: Federal, applied to local grassroots communities
When: 1964
Why: Pioneered concept of "maximum feasible participation" - gave poor and minority residents direct administrative control/federal resources that bypassed hostile local white political machines
Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Title VIII)
Who: Signed by LBJ, pressure from MLK JR's assassination and Kerner report
What: Federal law prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and later sex, disability, and familial status
Where: national residential real estate market
When: 1968
Why: Targeted structural residential segregation, redlining, racial covenants, weak initial enforcement mechanisms left segregation patterns across American suburbs
Representative Bureaucracy
Who: Political scientists J. Donald Kingsley, applied to racial/gender equity by Samuel Krislov and Kenneth Meier
What: Public administration theory that government agencies deliver better, more equitable outcomes when the demographic makeup of public servants mirror the diversity of the public they serve
Where: civil service, municipal agencies, public administration
When: Mid 20th century to present
Why: challenged the idea of "neutral" bureaucracy by illustrating that administrators bring lived values/shared cultural understandings that directly shape street-level discretionary decisions
Shirley Chisholm
Who: Educator, community organizer, New York politician
What: First Black woman elected to the US Congress, founding member of both the Congressional Black Caucus and National Women's Political Caucus
Where: Brooklyn New York and Washington DC
When: US Rep (1969-1983)
Why: Shattered racial/gender boundaries in federal governance under her famous slogan "Unbought and Unbossed"advocating for low income families, child care, urban education
1972 Chisholm Presidential Campaign
Who: Shirley Chisholm, contested against George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, George Wallace
What: First major African American candidacy for POTUS and first woman to seek the Democratic Party presidential nomination
Where: Primaries across the US, ended at the 1972 DNC in Miami, Florida
When: 1972
Why: Fought a simultaneous struggle on 2 fronts - sexism from Black male political leaders, racism/reluctance from white feminist leadership - laid early groundwork for modern intersectional political coalition building
Black Power Feminism
Who: Activists and theorists like Frances Beal, Toni Cade Bambara, Angela Davis, and organizations like the Third World Women's Alliance and the Combahee River Collective.
What: A political and intellectual movement that merged the anti-capitalist, community-defense insights of Black Power with feminist liberation.
Where: Urban centers (New York, Atlanta, Oakland, Chicago, Boston).
When: Late 1960s through the 1970s.
Why: Critiqued mainstream white feminism for ignoring race and class, while challenging the patriarchal dynamics and gender roles within the male-dominated Black Power movement, leading directly to the birth of intersectionality.
President's Initiative on Race (PIR)
Who: Convened by Pres. Bill Clinton
What: Yearlong White House commission designed to sponsor a nationwide dialogue on race, assess racial disparities, and recommend solutions for a multiethnic 21st century America
Where: Washington DC, public forums nationwide
When: 1997-1998
Why: Represented first comprehensive presidential panel dedicated specifically to race relations since 1967 Kerner Commission - critics debate reliance on conversation over structural legislative reform
Executive Order 13050
Who: Issued by Clinton
What: Formal executive order establishing Advisory Board to the PIR
Where: Executive Office of the President in DC
When: Signed 1997
Why: Official executive mandate and funding for federal exploration of contemporary race relations, multiculturalism, institutional disparities
John Hope Franklin
Who: African American historian, educator, author of From Slavery to Freedom
What: Appointed by Bill Clinton as chair of the Advisory Board for the PIR
Where: DC
Why: Contributed historical and intellectual grounding to Clinton's race initiative, consistently reminding the country that modern racial disparities stem from centuries of structural policy
One America in the 21st Century
Who: Advisory Board to the President's Initiative on Race; submitted to President Bill Clinton
What: The final formal report of the PIR, titled One America in the 21st Century: Forging a New Future, summarizing findings from national town halls and recommending actions across education, housing, justice, and community bridge-building.
Where: Washington, D.C.
When: Released September 1998.
Why: Synthesized the administration's vision of an inclusive multiracial democracy, though its public and legislative momentum was overshadowed by the unfolding Monica Lewinsky scandal and partisan conflict in Congress
Multiracial Democracy
Who: political theorists, civil rights scholars, modern democratic theorists
What: Democratic system in which power, economic opportunities, civic institutions, and self-governance are distributed equitably across multiple racial, ethnic, and cultural groups without any singular group holding dominance
Where: US, global societies
When: late 20th century to the present
Why: Moving from a historically white-dominated republic toward a pluralistic, representative society with equal political self-determination
Black-White Binary
Who: critical race theorists, Latinx, Asian American, indigenous legal scholars
What: Conceptual paradigm that views American racial dynamics/legal protections solely through the historical lens of relations between African Americans and white Americans
Where: America
When: Throughout the 1990s
Why: Highlights how the traditional framework often obscures the distinct radicalized histories of Asian Americans, Indigenous people, and Latinos (immigration restrictions, sovereignty issues, language access)
Dialogue vs Policy Change
Who: Core debate between Clinton White House strategists and progressive civil rights activists
What: political tension over whether racial justice is achieved primarily by changing individuals minds through forms of conversation (dialogue) or through aggressive structural legislation, institutional reform (policy change)
Where: US national politics
When: 1990s - present
Why: Shows recurring critique of moderate administration approaches that favor moral rhetoric, inspiring speeches/symbolic unity building over spending money to fix inequality
Symbolic vs Substantive Policy Change
Who: Political scientists examining presidential action on civil rights
What: Contrast between gestures intended to signal moral empathy without shifting resources or power (proclamation days, commissions, apologies) vs. enforceable rules that reallocate wealth, legal protections, and political power (Voting Rights Act, public funding)
Where: federal, state, executive politics
When: Core concept across 20th and 21st centuries
Why: provides a metric to evaluate whether presidential civil rights initiatives produce concrete systemic change or merely manage public relations
TransAfrica
Who: Founded by Randall Robinson, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Black foreign policy leaders
What: Premier African American foreign policy advocacy organization/think tank, mobilizing against apartheid in South African and advocating for equitable US policy towards African and Caribbean nations
Where: Washington DC
When: founded in 1977
Why: Bridged domestic black civil rights activism with global pan-African solidarity, notably forcing US economic sanctions against South Africa's apartheid regime over Ronald Reagan's veto
Modern Presidency (Professional Communication, Federal Expansion, Global Leadership, BIPOC/POTUS)
Who: Modern presidents from FDR - Obama and beyond
What: Transformation of the exec. branch characterized by mass media management, expanded federal reach, Cold War diplomacy, complex politics of race and the presidency (BIPOC/POTUS)
Where: DC
When: 1930s - present
Why: Demonstrates how presidents must manage civil rights pressures under global diplomatic scrutiny while navigating the institutional constraints of a divided electorate