For Class on 3/2 (due 3/1 at 8pm): Race, Criminal Justice, and Black Lives Matter

We have explored the role of institutions in the construction of race in many ways over the first several weeks of this course. One constant force has been the criminal justice system which has contributed to unequal treatment from the law and those in place to enforce it. Just a few examples (beyond slavery as an institution in and of itself) include the passage and enforcement of fugitive slaves laws, forcing runaway slaves that were caught to be returned to servitude, numerous treaties between the U.S. government and American Indians ignored or broken, countless court cases supporting the inferior rights of those considered non-white (Hall, Korematsu, Dred Scott, Plessy, etc), the vicious link between the white citizens councils and the KKK after the civil war, the growth of the prison industry in the late 20th century, the wildly unequal punishments for drug offenses that disproportionally affected Black and Latino Americans, racial profiling by local law enforcement to fight crime and by national law enforcement agents in the "war on terror," and finally the number of people who have been killed in interactions with police officers, a few of which have been shown widely and has led in large part to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Black Lives Matter Movement has emerged over the past few years as one of the most powerful and polarizing social movements in many years. You can see two useful timelines of the movement and the context surrounding it here and here. The movement has been motivated by social media organizing and viral videos. One outgrowth of the movement has been campaign zero which has outlined a clear set of goals to reduce police violence. I would be interested in an open discussion about the movement and responses to it. How do you view the BLM movement today and responses to it including All lives matter and Blue lives matter? Is BLM necessary or not? How is it affecting discussions and political debates about race in America? How would you evaluate the strategies of the movement (or campaign zero in particular)? What other strategies would be helpful? How do you view BLM moving forward, especially in the midst of much more outrage and activism primarily from the progressive left? Does history offer any helpful suggestions? Feel free to add links to help our discussion.

For class on 2/23 (due 2/22 @ 8pm): What is the best form of representation?

This weeks readings include articles by Suzanne Dovi and Katherine Tate (recommended), both of which focus on representation in congress. While there are many theoretical arguments presented, the debate boils down to which type of representation is best for marginalized groups: descriptive or substantive? Descriptive representatives are those who share demographic characteristics with those their constituents (i.e. a Latino congressperson is best suited to represent a Latino/a). Substantive representatives are those who focus on the interests and needs of various groups (i.e. a congressperson of any race who work substantively for what they perceive to be Black issues). I would like to hear your views on this debate and more generally how our representative democracy should best represent an increasingly diverse nation.

Other food for thought that you might want to comment on include:

• the breakdown of the current 115th Congress (especially focus on pages 7-8)
• exit polls for presidential elections from 1972 - 2016 broken down by demographic characteristics (once you scroll down you will see different years emerge at the top of the screen, use those to shift between elections and also pay attention to the change between each election and the one just before it along the right side of each row)

For Class on 2/16 (due 2/15 at 8pm): The (Relative) Power of the Media

This week I would like you to take a look at a few examples of how the media has covered different events. Historically the media has played a crucial role in political successes such as the civil rights movement. The media has the power to influence the political agenda and frame issues and individuals in influential ways. Often the media is referred to as the "4th branch of government," in charge of oversight and responsible to hold political leaders accountable. However others see the media as perpetuating bias and power structures by highlighting shocking and violent news, often disproportionally focusing on racial and ethnic minorities, as well as supporting a clearly partisan bias. Others see racial and ethnic minorities simply lacking in representation on TV.

Explore some of the following clips and then comment generally on how media coverage affects racial or ethnic groups in America. What is the role of media in the process today? Has it changed from prior media coverage of racially charged issues? What types of bias do you notice? Is it fair coverage? What role should the media take? What is the role of the public in a time when creating and sharing information is so easy especially via social media?
Feel free to add other clips that you find interesting and relevant, including recent clips of discussions of race during the lead up to the 2020 election.


Video 1: ABC coverage of the Rodney King verdict in 1991
Video 2: Malcolm X appears on a television show in Chicago called "City Desk" on March 17, 1963.
Video 3: Coverage of 2008 Election on CNN
Video 4: Reaction to the George Zimmerman (Trayvon Martin) Case and verdict
Video 5: The Good and the Bad of Media Coverage of Ferguson
Video 6: The "Unite the Right" Protest at Charlottesville, VA

For Class on 2/9 (Due 2/8 at 8pm): The Latino Vote

Political parties are in the business of winning elections. They do this by creating their party platforms, selecting candidates, and raising money to support campaigns in order to win come election day. But the voters that each party desperately covets are generally thought of as coalitions: groups of groups, that each party wants to assemble and hold in order to maintain a majority of voters voting for their candidates. A great example of this was the "new deal coalition" which were made up of union workers, African Americans, Jews, northern intellectuals, farmers, and a few others who voted in huge numbers for Democrats from the New Deal (1930s) until the 1980s or longer. 

While campaigns are becoming more sophisticated and more individualized, parties still target groups that they would like to hold. This is true for the "Black Vote," the "Women Vote," and the "Latino Vote." The parties target these groups by trying to support issues important to many in the group. Obviously there is no single issue that everyone in a particular group agrees with. It is no more realistic to talk about women's reproductive health issues as THE issue for woman as it would be to talk about support of Israel wrapping up 100% of the Jewish vote. 

That being said the Latino Vote in America is among the fastest growing groups of voters and has been shifting more and more into the Democratic column. Take a look at this great report from Pew about the Latino Vote in 2016, or this one about 2012. You will notice the trends over time about which party Latinos are voting for and some information about the issues that Latino's felt were most important in to Latino voters over the past two presidential elections. There are many issues that were important, only one of which is immigration, though it grabs most of the attention. Immigration and our relationship with Mexico has been particularly contentious during the 2016 election and in the early days of the Trump administration. How might this affect voting in the future?

This week I would like you to analyze the role of the Latino vote today and as we look into the future. You might want to take into account where Latinos live, recent public opinion data about their views on immigration, and what other issues might be particularly important to Latinos. 

How should this voting block be viewed? Is it a voting block at all? What policies or actions by the government might be best for the largest number of Latinos? And most importantly how would you advise both parties (but especially the Republicans) in regards to gaining more Latino voters? Please respond to one another and simply use these questions as a discussion starter.