race and rights in contemporary US politics

advancements in civil rights of racial minorities in USA

constitutional amendment (1964)

• 24th amendment - voting rights not be denied for non-payment of poll tax

legislation (1965)

• voting rights act - ended literacy and other tests as requirements for voter registration

decision of SC (1954)

• brown v board of education of topeka - declared segregated schools unconstitutional

presidential leadership

• (1957) president Eisenhower - sent federal troops to little rock, Arkansas, to integrate local high school

• (1961) president Kennedy - created equal employment opportunity commission

citizen action

• (1955) Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott

• (1961) freedom riders

• (1963) march for jobs and freedom

affirmative action

20th century ongoing argument between ‘equality of opportunity’ and ‘equality of outcome’

• from middle of century, civil rights advocates believed minority rights and representation could not be guaranteed solely by ‘giving’ rights to people - ‘equality of opportunity’ - would only give appearance of rights/equality

• to see practice of rights and equality in action, had to work towards ‘equality of outcome’. only way to overcome racial disadvantage was by introducing racial advantage through policies e.g. busing, quotas and AA.

  • busing; mandated movement of school children between racially homogenous neighbourhoods to create racially mixed schools

  • quotas; programme which certain percentage of places e.g. higher education, employment is reserved for people from prev. disadvantaged minorities

• AA most important and enduring policy

black Americans disadvantages during 100 years after civil war - many democrat politicians believed gov needed to discriminate positively in favour of black Americans in areas e.g. housing, education, employment - became known as AA programmes

AA in employment: preferential hiring practices for minority groups

• meant to lead to diversity and multiculturalism - view school, college, firm and workplace should represent nation’s racial diversity

• AA would lead to equality of outcome for previously disadvantaged racial groups

AA to some is reverse discrimination to others. more conservative groups, republican politicians believed they were both patronising to minorities + unfair to majorities

• believed constitution, federal + state laws should be ‘colour blind’

• children of minority families should be given equal opportunity to attend school of choice but busing/quotas to achieve artificial racial balance was in their view wrong

• employment - open up jobs to all applicants regardless of race but numerical targets, goals, quotas off-limits

supreme court and affirmative action

• Gratz v Bollinger (2003) court ruled (6-3) Uni of michigans AA based admissions programme for ug students was unconstitutional - ‘too mehcanistic’

  • all black, hispanic, native American applicants automatically awarded 20 of 150 points required for admission

• Grutter v Bollinger (2003) court ruled (5-4) Uni of Law school’s admissions programme was constitutional - used more ‘individualised’ approach considering racial profile of applicants

Net effect of two rulings has been to permit universities to continue using race as ‘plus factor’ in evaluating applicants - provided take sufficient care to evaluate each applicants ability individually. Majority of court also signed up to idea that AA programmes shouldn’t be seen as permanent fixture of US society - urged unis to prep for time when it’s no longer necessary

• suggested might occur within next 25 years

• 25 years previously - Regents of the University of California v Bakke (1978) - that SC ruled out racial quotas in uni admissions programmes but left door open to race being considered in admissions procedures.

Justice Clarence Thomas, only black member of court denounced racial diversity programmes as ‘faddish slogan of the cognoscenti’ that ‘do nothing for those too poor or uneducated to participate in elite higher education’

2007: Parents involved in community schools v Seattle school district and Meredith v Jefferson County (Kentucky) board of education - court declared unconstitutional to assign students to public schools solely for purpose of achieving racial balance

• both school systems centred on racial quotas of white and minority representation that would not otherwise be achieved in schools bc racially segregated housing patterns in Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Kentucky

• both sides of court in 5-4 rulings saw themselves as protecting equal protection rights announced in landmark 1954 brown decision

Chief Justice Roberts made clear that he + conservative colleagues on court had concern that allocating students to schools on basis of racial quotas violates equal protection clause of 14th Amendment

The Abigail Fisher v. University`of Texas at Austin cases (2013, 2016) challenged UT’s race-conscious admissions policy. Fisher, a white applicant, sued after being denied admission, arguing the policy violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

• 2013 (Fisher I) – The Supreme Court ruled (7-1) that the Fifth Circuit had not applied strict scrutiny properly, vacating its decision and sending the case back.

• 2014 – The Fifth Circuit reaffirmed UT’s policy, ruling it met strict scrutiny.

• 2016 (Fisher II) – Fisher appealed again, but the Supreme Court ruled (4-3) in favour of UT, holding that its use of race in admissions was constitutional.

All appeals and rehearings upheld UT’s policy, reinforcing Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), which allowed race-conscious admissions to promote diversity.

has affirmative action been positive for USA?

has AA been effective

1978, justice harry blackmun suggested that legitimacy of AA programmes was to be measured by how fast they moved society towards time when they would no longer be needed and a society where race no loner mattered

• line of argument which Justice Sandra Day O’Connor took in the Grutter decision of 2003 when she announced the 25-year limit to AA programmes

some politicians and philosophers think that AA is bound to fail by this measure because a programme that is based on race is unlikely to move society to a point where race no longer counts

four options for what to do with AA programmes: abolish them, gradually phase them out, reform them or keep them as they are. options tend to equate with political ideology of those who support them and also reflect the view of what has so far been achieved to level up racial equality and opportunity in the USA

• conservatives - found mostly in republican party - would tend to favur abolition of AA programmes. argue society is not about equality but equality of opportunity and that unequal society has benefit of providing incentives. offering ‘quotas’ is in their view disincentive to hard work and self improvement . furthermore, conservs would point to certain minorities within USA such as immigrants from southeast Asia who have succeeded without benefit of AA programmes. against those who argue that AA is necessary to make up for past discrimination, they argue today’s issues of inequality are not about past discrimination but are rooted in lifestyle choices - drugs, alcohol and parenting - that ppl make for themselves. finally, as we have already seen, conservatives argue that, paradoxically, AA is based on same false premise upon which segregation was based: racism.

• others of more moderate presuasion would agree with some of above but would be more impressed by all that AA programmes have achieved. argument would be that there must come a time when these programmes become unnecessary

• third argument, expressed by clinton’s ‘mend it, don’t end it’ catchphrase, suggests programmes wil need tweaking as their effect is more widely felt, and that reform , rather than abolition is what is called for

• progressive liberals - found mostly in democratic party - would see AA as something that needs to continue and has much left still to do. e.g. would point out both black Americans and Hispanics are under-represented in terms of bachelor degree awards as American universities. Liberals would thus argue that vision of equal society is still vision of future. focus on police treatment of black Americans highlighted by death of george floyd in 2020, and wider issues e.g. confederate staties and wealth inequality, only strengthen argument for more rather fewer initiatives to improve the lot of america’s racial minorities

voting rights

methods adopted by black Americans to achieve fair and equal voting

• direct action - bus boycotts, freedom rides and mass marchers seen during civil rights era, lead e.g. by dr martin luther king

• passage through congress of key legislation incl voting rights act

• litigation through courts

• efforts by politicians especially at state level, to support ability of minority groups to vote in elections

Historical Progress in Voting Rights

• Jesse Jackson, during his 1988 presidential campaign, highlighted the progress of black voting rights.

• 20 years later, Barack Obama became the first black U.S. president, reflecting this progress.

• In 2021, Raphael Warnock, a black Democrat, won a Georgia Senate run-off election, echoing Jackson’s sentiment.

Legislative Support for Voting Rights

• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was crucial in securing voting rights for minorities.

• In 2006, under President George W. Bush, Congress re-authorised the Act’s key provisions for 25 more years, including Section 4’s preclearance formula, which required certain states to get federal approval before changing voting laws.

Recent Challenges to Voting Rights

• Under President Biden, Republican-led states have pushed for stricter voting laws, such as limiting polling hours and locations.

• Democrats in the House of Representatives passed the For the People Act 2021 (220–210), which sought to:

  • Reform voting procedures.

  • Prevent gerrymandering by making independent commissions responsible for redistricting.

Political Motivations Behind Voting Laws

• Minority voter suppression has resurfaced in the 21st century.

• Higher voter turnout benefits Democrats, while lower turnout favours Republicans.

• Republican efforts to suppress votes failed in the 2020 presidential election and Georgia’s Senate run-offs due to black voter mobilisation, largely credited to Stacey Abrams.

Shelby County v Holder (2013)

• Supreme Court struck down Section 4’s preclearance formula, ruling it unconstitutional.

• Chief Justice Roberts’ rationale: The coverage formula was based on outdated racial discrimination data.

• Decision weakened the Voting Rights Act, leading to concerns about renewed voter suppression.

• had immediate consequences. within days, texas announced that a voter identification law that had been blocked would go into immediate effect + state’s restricting maps would no longer need federal government approval

recent developments

voter turnout among black voters increased significantly over past 40 years

1980, only 50% eligible black voters went to polls compares with 61% of white voters. 2012 record 66.65 eligible black voters cast ballot - less than 645 eligible white voters, 48% eligible hispanic voters

worrying developments that disproportionately affect black voters

• nine states introduced photo id requirement for all voters in run up to 2016 elections. included six states - Alabama, Missisippi, South Carolina, Tennesee, Texas and Virginia - with high proportions of black voters who were disproportionately affected as they were statistically less likely to possess such documentation

• 2016, Brennan center for justice estimated 6mn Americans had lost right to vote because of previous criminal convictions - what is referred to as felony disenfranchisement. also estimated that 1 in 13 voting age black Americans had lost right to vote because of past conviction, rate being four times higher than all other Americans

• research - sentencing project showed felony disenfranchisement among black community risen sharply since 1980. 1980, just 2 states - Arizona and Iowa - had disenfranchised more than 10% black voters bc past convictions. 2020, eleven states disenfranchised more than 10% black voters = 2 states - Wyoming and Tennessee - disenfranchised over 20% (Wyoming 36.2%), felony disenfranchisement rate for all adult citizens in that state was just 2.6%

Voting Restrictions and Their Impact

• Husted v. Randolph Institute (2018): Supreme Court upheld voter caging, allowing removal of inactive voters from the register.

  • NAACP argued this disproportionately affected minority voters.

• Black voter turnout in 2016 dropped to 59.6%, while white voter turnout increased to 65.3%.

• Trump administration frequently denounced ‘voter fraud’, reinforcing Republican-led voting restrictions.

• Republican-controlled states made voting harder by:

  • Reducing early and postal voting opportunities.

  • Cutting the number of polling stations.

  • Conducting electoral roll purges, disproportionately affecting Democrat-leaning minority voters.

• Post-2010 midterms: Republican House majority made it harder for Congress to take action against voter suppression.

Supreme Court’s Role in Voting Rights

• In the lead-up to 2020 elections, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court upheld several Republican-backed voting restrictions:

  • Allowed Florida to bar ex-felons from voting unless fines and fees were paid.

    • Overturned a 2018 ballot initiative that had sought to restore their voting rights.

  • Blocked a trial judge’s ruling (5-3 decision) that would have permitted counties in Alabama to introduce kerbside voting.

• Legal scholar Richard Hasen: Criticised Chief Justice John Roberts for prioritising political interests of donors over voters’ rights.

• Voting rights remain a highly politicised issue, as lower turnout benefits Republicans, while higher turnout benefits Democrats.

Representation and Political Rights

• Besides voting, another key issue in racial political rights is elected representation at all levels of government.

• Bill Clinton’s vision: All branches of government should ‘look like America’ in terms of diversity.

• Barack Obama’s 2008 election was seen as a historic breakthrough in minority political representation.

• However, Trump’s presidency and the political climate since then have dampened optimism about long-term racial progress in politics.

Minority Representation in Congress

• In 1984, when Jesse Jackson first ran for president, there were only 21 black members of Congress - all in HoR

• over next 2 decades, number increased quite significantly mainly due to creation of some states in majority-minority districts for elections to HoR.

• 117th congress, began in January 2021 was most racially diverse on record. record 26% representatives came from minority ethnic groups, black American members 56 → 63. record 52 hispanic members + asian members 17 → 24

  

  in perspective, about 39% america’s population are from minority ethnic groups - remain under represented, 84% 117th congress’ minority legislators are democrats so clinton’s quoted aspiration currently only applies to democratic party

minority representation in executive branch

presidency

1972 Shirley Chisholm became first major-party black American candidate for presidency when she competed in that year’s Democratic primaries, winning 152 delegates to party’s national convention.

12 years later, Jesse Jackson won over 3 million votes in democratic primaries, finished 3rd in 1984 contest. Jackson ran again in 1988 and did even better, winning 11 contests and finishing second behind eventual nominee, Michael Dukakis

20 years before another black candidate emerged for president who had good chance of winning it. even Barack Obama, 2008 started way behind that year’s Democratic front runner, Hilary Clinton, Obama, of course went on not only to win nomination but presidency, and was re-elected to second term 4 years later. still few members of racial minorities in usual pools of recruitment for president. 2016, 22 declared major party presidential candidates, only one - Ben Carson was black, and only 2 - Bobby Jindall and Marco Rubio were from minority ethnic groups

2020, none of minority candidates made it through to final two in Democratic primaries. both old white men, biden and saunders - and equality of opportunity for minority candidates was shown as lacking by dominance of white party candidates.

Democrats eventual nominee, Joe Biden did select Kamala Harris, who has black and asian heritage as vice presidential candidate who then went on to run for presidency in 2024 election

cabinet

6 years before Chisholm launched ground-breaking campaign, President Lyndon Johnson had appointed Robert Weaver as secretary of housing and urban development. thus weaver became first black American to head federal executive department = thereby become member of president’s cabinet. Since Weaver’s appointment over 20 black Americans have headed an executive department

cabinet appointed by Joe Biden in January 2021 was one of most racially diverse in American history. sought to reflect promise of “keeping commitment that administration, both in white house and outside in the cabinet is going to look like the country’

Alongside Kamala Harris, first ever black and South Asian vice president, his nominees included six other non-whites to full cabinet positions, included Deb Haaland, department of interior - first ever naive American to serve in cabinet and Lloyd Austin, first black American to serve as defense secretary. in total, 7/16 full cabinet posts were given to members of minority ethnic groups. by contrast, Trump cabinet 2020 initially included just 3 non-white appointees and was accused by critics of being dominated by older white males.