SOC 134 Exam 2 Study Guide: Economics, Politics, and Segregation

Vocabulary practice flashcards for SOC 134 Exam 2 covering economic stratification, politics, voting suppression, civil rights milestones, residential segregation, and environmental racism.

Income

Money received over time as a flow, including wages, salaries, retirement payments, and government assistance.

Wealth

The value of assets a person or household owns minus debts (e.g., savings, stocks, bonds, home equity, real estate), which can generate income, provide a cushion during emergencies, and be inherited.

New Deal programs (1933–1938)

Federal economic support programs during the Great Depression that excluded agricultural and domestic workers, limiting Black Americans' access to economic security and asset building.

GI Bill of Rights (1944)

Federal legislation providing veterans with education, unemployment, and homeownership benefits, which Black veterans were frequently prevented from accessing on equal terms due to local discrimination and discriminatory lending.

Reaganomics (1981–1989)

Economic policy emphasizing tax cuts, deregulation, and trickle-down theory; lecture notes reported that top earners received larger benefits while Black family income fell about $18\%$ during the 1980s.

Occupational segregation

The concentration of workers from different racial groups in different occupations or workplaces, which can limit access to higher wages, promotion paths, and benefits.

Generational inheritance

The intergenerational transfer of wealth through inheritances, gifts, tuition support, and down payments, which allows racial wealth disparities to persist despite similar educational or income attainment.

Audit / correspondence study

A research method testing discrimination by comparing applicants with equivalent qualifications who differ only by a racial signal, such as a name or perceived race.

Mortgage-interest deduction (MID)

A federal tax policy subsidizing mortgage interest for homeowners that disproportionately benefits higher-income households and reinforces long-term racial wealth inequality.

Blinding

An institutional policy of removing identifying information (such as names, race, or gender) from a decision process when that information is not relevant, reducing opportunities for bias.

Voter disenfranchisement

The practice of depriving people of the legal right or practical ability to vote.

Grandfather clauses

Historical voting rules that exempted individuals from voting restrictions if their ancestors had been eligible to vote, protecting White voters while disenfranchising Black voters.

Literacy tests

Selectively and unfairly administered tests historically utilized by election officials to prevent Black citizens from registering to vote.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Federal legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in major areas of public life and employment and banning segregation in public accommodations.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal legislation outlawing discriminatory voting devices such as literacy tests and establishing federal enforcement mechanisms to protect minority voting rights.

Preclearance

A former Voting Rights Act requirement obligating jurisdictions with histories of discrimination to obtain federal approval before implementing changes to election laws.

Southern Strategy

A Republican electoral strategy from the late 1960s onward that sought political support from White voters reacting against civil-rights advances and racial change.

Dog whistle

Coded political language that evokes racial fears or stereotypes without explicitly naming race, thereby enabling plausible deniability.

Ian Haney López's dog-whistle framework

A three-part political tactic: punch (invoke a racialized threat via coded language), parry (deny racial intent), and kick (attack critics for accusing the speaker of racism).

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

The Supreme Court decision that invalidated the coverage formula of the Voting Rights Act, ending the preclearance requirement for previously covered jurisdictions.

Gerrymandering

The practice of drawing legislative district boundaries to advantage a specific political party or group, weakening the voting power of others.

Packing

A gerrymandering strategy of concentrating opposing voters into a small number of districts so their votes are wasted in overwhelming margins.

Cracking

A gerrymandering strategy of dispersing opposing voters across multiple districts to prevent them from securing a voting majority in any single district.

Gill v. Whitford (2018)

A Wisconsin partisan-gerrymandering case in which the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the ruling on standing grounds without deciding the broad constitutional merits.

Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)

The Supreme Court ruling establishing that partisan-gerrymandering claims represent non-justiciable political questions beyond the reach of federal courts.

Bentele & O’Brien (2013)

A study demonstrating that the adoption of restrictive voting-access policies was strongly partisan and consistent with minority-voter demobilization being a major driver.

Robert Spindell email (2023)

A report regarding a Wisconsin election commissioner praising tactics, such as "Negative Black Radio Commercials," credited with depressing voter turnout in majority-Black and Hispanic areas of Milwaukee.

Residential segregation

The physical separation of racial or ethnic groups across neighborhoods, which heavily influences access to schools, employment, healthcare, and wealth-building opportunities.

Index of dissimilarity ($D$)

A demographic measure ranging from $0$ (complete integration) to $100$ (complete segregation) showing how evenly two racial groups are distributed across neighborhoods.

Great Migration (roughly 1910–1970s)

The mass movement of millions of Black Americans from the rural South to Northern and Midwestern cities in search of industrial work and to escape Jim Crow violence.

White flight

The large-scale migration of White families from urban neighborhoods to suburbs, facilitated by federally backed mortgages and suburban infrastructure, as cities underwent racial change.

New Great Migration (about 1965–2000)

The return migration of Black Americans from Northern and Midwestern cities back to the South, driven by deindustrialization, changing job prospects, and lower living costs.

Redlining

The discriminatory practice of marking neighborhoods—primarily Black communities—as poor lending risks to systematically deny them access to mortgages and investment capital.

Fair Housing Act of 1968

Federal legislation passed on April 11, 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and open-housing protests, prohibiting racial discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.

Racial Threat Hypothesis

The sociological hypothesis that as a minority group grows in size or influence, members of the dominant group perceive a threat and mobilize support for exclusionary practices.

Contested Boundaries Hypothesis

The sociological framework stating that racial boundaries and group status are actively maintained and challenged through spatial segregation to protect group privilege.

Concentrated poverty

The geographical clustering of poverty within segregated neighborhoods, creating compounded disadvantages in employment, schooling, and services, as described by Massey and Denton.

Environmental racism

The disproportionate exposure of communities of color to environmental hazards or their unequal protection from environmental harm through policies and land-use decisions.

Environmental justice

The principle that all communities are entitled to equitable environmental protection and meaningful involvement in environmental decision-making regardless of race or income.

NIMBY

An acronym for "Not in my backyard," referring to resident opposition to unwanted local projects, often resulting in harmful facilities being redirected to less powerful communities.

Income

Money received over time as a flow, including wages, salaries, retirement payments, and government assistance.

Wealth

The value of assets a person or household owns minus debts (e.g., savings, stocks, bonds, home equity, real estate), which can generate income, provide a cushion during emergencies, and be inherited.

New Deal programs (1933–1938)

Federal economic support policies during the Great Depression that excluded agricultural and domestic workers, limiting Black Americans' access to economic security and asset building.

GI Bill of Rights (1944)

Federal legislation providing veterans with education, unemployment, and homeownership benefits, which Black veterans were frequently prevented from accessing on equal terms due to local discrimination and discriminatory lending.

Reaganomics (1981–1989)

An economic framework emphasizing tax cuts, deregulation, and trickle-down theory, under which top earners received larger benefits while Black family income fell about $18\%$ during the 1980s.

Occupational segregation

The concentration of workers from different racial groups in different occupations or workplaces, which limits access to higher wages, promotion paths, and benefits.

Generational inheritance

The intergenerational transfer of assets through inheritances, gifts, tuition support, and down payments, allowing racial wealth disparities to persist despite similar educational or income attainment.

Audit / correspondence study

A research method testing discrimination by comparing applicants with equivalent qualifications who differ only by a racial signal, such as a name or perceived race.

Mortgage-interest deduction (MID)

A federal tax policy subsidizing home-loan interest that disproportionately benefits higher-income households and reinforces long-term racial wealth inequality.

Blinding

An institutional policy of removing identifying details (such as names, race, or gender) from a decision process when that information is not relevant, reducing opportunities for bias.

Voter disenfranchisement

The practice of depriving people of the legal right or practical ability to vote.

Grandfather clauses

Historical voting rules that exempted individuals from voting restrictions if their ancestors had been eligible to vote, protecting White voters while disenfranchising Black citizens.

Literacy tests

Selectively and unfairly administered examinations historically utilized by election officials to block Black citizens from registering to vote.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Federal legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in major areas of public life and employment, while banning segregation in public accommodations.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal legislation outlawing discriminatory voting devices such as literacy tests and establishing federal enforcement mechanisms to protect minority voting rights.

Preclearance

A former statutory requirement obligating jurisdictions with histories of discrimination to obtain federal approval before implementing changes to election laws.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

A yearlong protest triggered by the arrest of Rosa Parks where Black residents refused to use segregated municipal buses, demonstrating the leverage of coordinated economic action and drawing national attention.

Student sit-ins (1960)

Nonviolent direct actions at segregated department store lunch counters led by Black college students, which spread across cities and challenged racial segregation in public accommodations.

Freedom Rides (1961)

Interracial journeys across the South challenging segregated interstate transit facilities, enduring violent resistance and compelling federal enforcement of desegregation rulings.

Birmingham Movement (1963)

Mass demonstrations against municipal segregation that faced severe police repression, generating widespread coverage that heightened national pressure for civil-rights legislation.

Freedom Summer (1964)

A major voter-registration and community-education initiative in Mississippi that faced violent intimidation while exposing systemic barriers to Black voting rights.

Southern Strategy

A Republican electoral strategy from the late 1960s onward that sought political support from White voters reacting against civil-rights advances and racial change.

Dog whistle

Coded political language that evokes racial fears or stereotypes without explicitly naming race, thereby enabling plausible deniability.

Ian Haney López's dog-whistle framework

A three-part political tactic: punch (invoke a racialized threat via coded language), parry (deny racial intent), and kick (attack critics for accusing the speaker of racism).

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

The Supreme Court decision that invalidated the coverage formula of the Voting Rights Act, ending the preclearance requirement for previously covered jurisdictions.

Gerrymandering

The practice of drawing legislative district boundaries to advantage a specific political party or group, weakening the voting power of others.

Packing

A redistricting strategy that concentrates opposing voters into a small number of districts so their votes are wasted in overwhelming margins.

Cracking

A redistricting strategy that disperses opposing voters across multiple districts to prevent them from securing a voting majority in any single district.

Gill v. Whitford (2018)

A Wisconsin partisan redistricting case in which the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the ruling on standing grounds without deciding the broader constitutional merits.

Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)

The Supreme Court ruling establishing that partisan-gerrymandering claims represent non-justiciable political questions beyond the reach of federal courts.

Bentele & O’Brien (2013)

An empirical study analyzing state adoption of restrictive voting rules (e.g., photo ID, early-voting cutbacks), demonstrating that adoption was strongly partisan and aligned with minority-voter demobilization rather than evidence of fraud.

Robert Spindell email (2023)

A report regarding a Wisconsin election commissioner praising tactics, such as negative radio commercials, credited with depressing voter turnout in majority-Black and Hispanic areas of Milwaukee.

Residential segregation

The spatial separation of racial or ethnic groups across neighborhoods; Black–White segregation historically exceeds Latino–White and Asian–White levels and remains substantial in many Northern and Midwestern cities.

Index of dissimilarity ($D$)

A demographic measure ranging from $0$ (complete integration) to $100$ (complete segregation) showing how evenly two racial groups are distributed across neighborhoods.

Great Migration (roughly 1910–1970s)

The mass movement of millions of Black Americans from the rural South to Northern and Midwestern cities in search of industrial work and to escape Jim Crow violence.

White flight

The large-scale movement of White families from urban neighborhoods to suburbs, facilitated by federally backed mortgages and suburban infrastructure, as cities underwent racial change.

New Great Migration (about 1965–2000)

The return migration of Black Americans from Northern and Midwestern cities back to the South, driven by deindustrialization, changing job prospects, and lower living costs.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

A government agency establishing mortgage standards that historically favored White suburban developments while designating racially mixed or Black neighborhoods as high-risk lending areas.

Redlining

The discriminatory practice of marking neighborhoods—primarily Black communities—as poor lending risks to systematically deny them access to mortgages and investment capital.

Ghetto formation

The spatial concentration of Black residents in segregated urban areas via discriminatory housing markets and racial exclusion, producing community cohesion while heightening vulnerability to disinvestment.

Fair Housing Act of 1968

Federal legislation passed on April 11, 1968, in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and open-housing protests, prohibiting racial discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.

Racial Threat Hypothesis

The sociological framework proposing that as a minority group expands in population or influence, members of the dominant group perceive a threat and mobilize support for exclusionary practices.

Contested Boundaries Hypothesis

The sociological framework stating that racial boundaries and group status are actively maintained and challenged through spatial segregation to protect group privilege.

Concentrated poverty

The geographical clustering of poverty within segregated neighborhoods, creating compounded disadvantages in employment, schooling, and services, as described by Massey and Denton.

Environmental racism

The disproportionate exposure of communities of color to environmental hazards or their unequal protection from environmental harm through policies and land-use decisions.

Environmental justice

The principle that all communities are entitled to equitable environmental protection and meaningful involvement in environmental decision-making regardless of race or income.

NIMBY

An acronym for 'Not in my backyard,' referring to resident opposition to unwanted local projects, often resulting in harmful facilities being redirected to less powerful communities.