Discuss two ways Blacks have historically been disenfranchis

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University of South Florida *

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Law

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Alice Auguste 02/01/2024 Reading Response Questions 1. Discuss two ways Blacks have historically been disenfranchised and how this practice impacted their ability to attain political equality. Black American citizens historically did not have rights to an education or the right to own land. Even 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans were still disenfranchised by way of unattainable demands being told to them while trying to get registered at the courthouse. Blacks were told they needed to have land ownership; some were even given an elaborate literacy test based on the state's constitution. This prevented them from having political equity because blacks were denied an education during slavery and were also not allowed to own land so majority of freed black Americans could not meet these standards (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 2. Discuss two types of political protests inspired by the SNCC and how they helped progress political equality. The SNCC birthed two pivotal forms of peaceful protest, sit-ins, and the Freedom Rides. The sit- ins originated from 4 college students of color who decided to sit at a “whites only” lunch counter at a department store and were denied service despite having the funds to pay for it. They stayed until closing and the word spread around their community, and more students came to sit in, this gained national attention leading to the desegregation of lunch counters in many cities. Furthermore, the Freedom Rides of 1961 was the catalyst for the most effective Civil Rights legislation. Following the Supreme Courts desegregation of bus terminals, the CORE group decided to fund a bus for white and non-white members to ride in unison. The rides made it from Washington D.C. to Birmingham where riders were brutally beaten, leading the rides to come to a halt. The news of the attacks on the riders motivated President Kennedy to send the Civil Rights act to congress before his subsequent assassination (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 3. What were the “Indian Termination” policies and what did the Native Americans do to prevent their own termination? The Indian Termination policies led to the government not legitimizing over 100 tribes and stripping them of their federal aid and protections. The goal was to assimilate more Native Americans and siege their protected lands, but much like the Civil Rights movement, Native Americans protested this through civil disobedience and organizations for activism. One of the most notable organized protests was the invasion of Alcatraz Island. The Indians wanted to have the land given back to them to use it for the development of Indian education, after 19 months (about 1 and a half years) of occupying the island, federal marshals removed the protesters. Despite their goal of obtaining the Island not coming into fruition, the occupation brought 1
awareness and education on the struggles of indigenous Americans leading to the formation of the National Museum of the American Indian (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 4. How have White politicians used covert practices and racially coded language to push their racial agendas? White politicians swapped out words like “segregation” and presented it under the guise of state’s rights to secure voters. These politicians were targeting white people who still wanted separation between white people and black people but on the same token, did not support out right racism. They achieve this by taking a racially motivated issue and presenting it as race- neutral principle and by doing this it promoted the supremist mindset without being explicitly racist (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 5. How might the changing racial demographics of the United States impact politics and race relations over the next 10 to 20 years? Considering that Asian Americans are the fastest growing minority demographic in America, this can lead to political impacts because most Asian Americans consider themselves to be independent or non-party affiliating. Politicians are examining the needs of the Asian American demographic in efforts to sway their votes, also this growing population will eventually lead to more political representation in the Asian community, this is an example of how changing demographics can have political impacts (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 6. How is the practice of felony disenfranchisement both racial and political? Felon disenfranchisement is both racially and politically motivated. From the birth of felon disenfranchisement its goal was to lessen the political power of non-white demographics. Due to the 15 th amendment, politicians needed another avenue to ensure that black men do not gain too much political power, so by throwing them in prison and taking away their right to vote FOREVER this ensured that the voting pool would skew in their favor (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 7. How does race play a role in shaping the policies and demographic representation of the Democratic and Republican parties? The situation in Florida, where more than 1.1 million citizens, with a considerable number being African Americans, were denied voting rights, strongly shapes the policies and demographic representation of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The unequal impact on minority communities highlights a need for Democrats to push for inclusive policies, while Republicans might need to reevaluate positions contributing to disenfranchisement to expand their support base. This issue's potential impact on election outcomes underlines the intersection of race with political representation, sparking conversations within both parties about electoral fairness, criminal justice reform, and addressing broader racial disparities in the United States (Desmond & Emirbayer, 2020) . 2
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