POLS 041: U.S. Government and Politics - Week 13 Study Guide to Civil Rights, Suffrage, and LGBTQ+ Equality

Civil Rights and the Analysis of Change: Tupac Shakur, MLK, and Malcolm X

• Recap Overview: The course material bridges historical movements, including Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement, with the philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and contemporary cultural figures like Tupac Shakur.

• Discussion Exercise: Students are asked to form groups of $3$ or more to discuss how Tupac Shakur’s message compares to MLK and Malcolm X, specifically focusing on their analysis of "the problem" and their proposed methods for advocating for social change.

• Quiz Assessment: Students must respond to the following within $5$ minutes:     * Identify MLK’s argument in ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’.     * Identify Malcolm X’s argument in ‘The Ballot or the Bullet’.     * Explain where Tupac agrees or disagrees with these arguments in his song ‘Changes’ using specific examples.

• The Concept of Structural Racism in ‘Changes’ (Lyrics):     * Analysis of existential despair: "I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself / Is life worth livin'? Should I blast myself?"     * Economic and racial intersections: "I'm tired of bein' poor and, even worse, I'm black / My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch."     * Police brutality and systemic bias: "Cops give a damn about a negro / Pull the trigger, kill a n—, he's a hero."     * Systemic sabotage: "Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare / First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers / Give 'em guns, step back, watch 'em kill each other."

• Tension Regarding the Possibility of Change:     * Call to action: "We gotta start makin’ some changes…"     * Fatalism/Realism: "But things change, and that’s the way it is."     * Observation of stasis: "I see no changes, all I see is racist faces."     * Pessimism: "But some things will never change."

• Strategies for Change Defined by Shakur:     * Internal and cultural transformation: "It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes / Let's change the way we eat / Let's change the way we live / And let's change the way we treat each other."     * Survivalism: "You see, the old way wasn't workin' / So it's on us to do what we gotta do to survive."

• Plea for Understanding and Global Context:     * Resource misallocation: "It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East / Instead of war on poverty / They got a war on drugs so the police can bother me."     * Personal justification: "And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do / But now I'm back with the facts, givin' it back to you."

• Necessity of Violence and Self-Protection:     * Defensive posturing: "You gotta learn to hold your own… as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped / And I never get to lay back / 'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the payback."     * Distrust of authorities: "But tell the cops they can't touch this / I don't trust this, when they try to rush, I bust this / That's the sound of my tool."

• Connection to the $2008$ Presidential Election:     * Prophetic lyric: "And although it seems heaven-sent / We ain't ready to see a black president."     * Barack Obama’s campaign leveraged similar themes of "Change We Can Believe In," drawing on previous Black political thought. Evidence includes the popular vote of Obama ($51\%$) against McCain ($47\%$—implied context) in $2008$.

The History and Evolution of Women’s Suffrage

• Seneca Falls Convention ($\text{July } 19–20, 1848$):     * This was the first organized demand for women’s political rights in the U.S.     * Purpose: Advertised to discuss the "social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman."     * Key Leaders: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.     * The Declaration of Sentiments: A foundational document arguing that women’s suffrage was central to equality.

• Early Successes in Western States:     * Wyoming (territory): First to grant full voting rights in $1869$.     * Utah ($1870$), Wyoming ($1890$ - as state), Colorado ($1893$), Idaho ($1896$).     * Reasons for Western openness: Libertarian ethos and the desire to attract settlers (particularly women) where men drastically outnumbered women (e.g., $6-1$ in Wyoming).     * By the $1910s$, New York was trailing $13$ other states that had already granted full suffrage.

• The $19^{th}$ Amendment ($1920$):     * Core Clause: Prohibits the denial of the right to vote "on account of sex."     * Congressional History: First introduced in $1878$ (the "Anthony Amendment"); passed House and Senate in $1919$.     * Ratification: Required $36$ of $48$ states. Tennessee was the deciding state on $\text{August } 18, 1920$, passing by a one-vote margin.     * The Harry T. Burn Story: The $24$-year-old legislator changed his vote after receiving a letter from his mother, Febb Ensminger Burn, stating: "Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. ‘Thomas Catt’ with her ‘Rats.’" (Mrs. Catt refers to Carrie Chapman Catt).

• Exclusion and Race within the Movement:     * Dominated by white, middle-class women; some used racist arguments to gain Southern support.     * $1913$ Suffrage March: Ida B. Wells was instructed to march in the back; she refused and joined her state delegation at the front.     * Voting gaps: Native Americans were excluded until the Indian Citizenship Act ($1924$); Black women faced exclusion through Jim Crow until the Voting Rights Act ($1965$).

Modern Voting Rights and Legal Challenges

• $21^{st}$ Century Restrictions:     * SAVE America Act: A bill debated in Congress that would require expensive government documentation (Passport, RealID, updated birth certificate) to register.     * Economic impact: Critics argue these costs function as a de facto poll tax, which was outlawed by the $24^{th}$ Amendment in $1964$.     * Disproportionate effect: Likely to hinder women, people of color, and low-income individuals despite claims of preventing "illegal voting."

• Family Voting and Christian Fundamentalism:     * A proposed structure where households, not individuals, receive one vote.     * Mechanism: Head of household (usually the man) votes for the family.     * Impact: Proponents claim they allow women heads of households to vote, but the policy would significantly reduce individual voting rights for women.

• Broad Women's Rights Issues:     * Employment & Pay: Equal Pay Act ($1963$) mandates equal pay; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ($1964$) bans hiring/firing/promotion discrimination.     * Education: Title IX ($1972$) prohibits sex discrimination, leading to gains in female students and athletes.     * Bodily Autonomy: Roe v. Wade ($1973$) protected abortion; overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ($2022$).     * Credit: Equal Credit Opportunity Act ($1974$) allowed women to get credit cards/loans without a male co-signer.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

• Core Proposal: Guaranteed legal equality regardless of sex: "Equality of rights… shall not be denied… on account of sex."
• Ratification Timeline:     * Passed Congress: $1972$.     * Initial Limit: Seven-year ratification deadline ($1979$).     * Requirement: $3/4ths$ of state legislatures ($38$ states).
• The Divide:     * Proponent: Gloria Steinem (sought constitutional clarity and durability).     * Opponent: Phyllis Schlafly (argued it would remove legal protections for women and eliminate sex-based distinctions like selective service).
• Three State Strategy:     * Momentum stalled at $35$ states in $1975$.     * $1994$: Strategy launched to gain the final $3$ states.     * Successes: Nevada ($2017$), Illinois ($2018$), Virginia ($2020$ - became the $38^{th}$ state).
• Current Disputed Status: The Archivist of the United States has not certified it because of the expired deadline, and the legal status remains unresolved by courts.

LGBTQ+ Rights: From Stonewall to Obergefell

• Historical Context (1960s):     * Social Stigma: Queer identity framed as immorality or mental illness.     * Coercive treatments: Included forced sterilization and electroshock therapy.     * Police Tactics: Raids, entrapment (undercover solicitation), and "obscenity" laws.

• The Stonewall Uprising (‘June } 28, 1969):     * Site: Stonewall Inn, an underground space for patrons to be outwardly queer.     * Event: A police raid targeting drag queens and trans women met unexpected resistance.     * Outcome: Patrons refused to disperse; police were barricaded inside the Inn for safety; nights of clashes followed.     * Legacy: Shifted the movement from "respectability" to visibility and collective resistance. Leaders included Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

• The AIDS Crisis (1980s):     * Recognition: First observed in $1981$.     * Mortality statistics: $50\%$ died within $1-2$ years; $80-90\%$ died within $5$ years.     * Government Failures: Slow response and social neglect of patients due to fear of contraction among medical staff.     * Activism: ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) used "die-ins" and direct action to demand medical research and access.     * Medical Breakthrough: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) introduced in the mid-$1990s$, reducing deaths by $50\%$ between $1996$ and $1998$.

• Legal Milestones:     * Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT): Established $1993$, repealed $2010$. Trans service currently banned under Executive Order $14183$.     * Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): Established $1996$, defined marriage as between one man and one woman.     * Lawrence v. Texas ($2003$): Ruled state sodomy laws unconstitutional.     * Obergefell v. Hodges ($2015$): Guaranteed marriage equality nationwide; struck down DOMA.     * VP Joe Biden Case: In May $2012$, Biden voiced support for gay marriage on a Sunday talk show, pressuring President Obama to declare his own support shortly after.

Discussion & Audience Interaction

• Group Discussion 1: "How does Tupac’s message compare to MLK and Malcolm X?"
• Group Discussion 2: "What is women’s suffrage? What specific details about the women’s suffrage movement do you remember from the documentary?"
• Group Discussion 3: "Do we need an Equal Rights Amendment? Why or why not?" (Clarified to mean: Is the ERA legally necessary for women to have equal rights?)
• Group Discussion 4: "Why was Gloria Steinem in favor of the ERA? Why was Phyllis Schlafly against it?"
• Group Discussion 5: "What similarities do you notice between the Stonewall Uprising and the Civil Rights or Women’s Suffrage movements?"
• Extra Credit Opportunity: Attend the panel event moderated by Dr. Worth. Submit a photo and a $500$-word reflection by $\text{Friday, April } 24^{th}$ for up to $3$ points on the final exam.