Race & Rights in Contemporary US Politics
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 15.4.2
Race and Rights
Racial equality is the belief that people of all races are equal. Racial rights campaigns have had an influence on voting rights, affirmative action and representation.
Equal voting rights
- Civil rights laws have given ethnic minorities the right to vote.
- The 1965 Voting Rights Act.
- The re-authorisation of the Voting Rights Act under President George W. Bush in 2006.
- Voter turnout among African American voters has increased in recent years.
- In the 2012 presidential election, 62% of eligible Black voters turned out to vote compared to 50% in 1980.
Failings of equal voting rights
- Many African Americans have lost their right to vote because of past criminal convictions compared to other Americans.
- In the 2016 election, 26.1% of African American voters in Kentucky were not able to vote because of previous criminal offences.
- Photo ID requirements for voters were introduced in nine states in 2016, which a disproportionate number of African Americans do not have.
Representation: Congress
- Racial minorities have continued to seek improved representation across the executive and Congress.
- Racial diversity and representation in Congress have increased in recent years. The 119th Congress (2025–2027) is among the most racially diverse, with 66 African American members and over 60 Hispanic members.
- Congress still does not mirror the diversity of the wider US population, meaning descriptive representation remains incomplete.
Representation: executive
- In 2008 Barack Obama became the first African American president.
- Few racial minorities stand as presidential candidates.
- In 2016 only three of 23 presidential candidates were from racial minority groups.
- The cabinet became more racially diverse under President Obama.
- Obama's 2009 cabinet included multiple African American, Hispanic, and Asian American members, making it the most racially diverse to that point.
- Trump's first-term cabinet (2017–2021) was less racially diverse than Obama's.
Race & Rights: affirmative action
Racial equality is the belief that people of all races are equal. Racial rights campaigns have had an influence on affirmative action.
Affirmative action
- Affirmative action is a programme of favouring disadvantaged minorities in areas such as employment and higher education.
- Race can be considered as one factor in admissions, but strict quotas are not permitted.
- Supreme Court cases on affirmative action have impacted its use in America.
- The Supreme Court allowed limited use of race in admissions (2003), but banned it in 2023 as unconstitutional.
Affirmative action advantages
- Affirmative action rights the previous aims to address previous discrimination in American society.
- Affirmative action gives minorities access to areas of employment and education.
- Increases diversity and multiculturalism.
- Promotes racial tolerance across the education system because it means there are more diverse students.
Affirmative action disadvantages
- By advantaging certain minority groups, other citizens may be disadvantaged. This has increased negative perceptions of affirmative action. Some may consider this to be ‘reverse discrimination’.
- Affirmative action is based on race and so maintains race’s importance in society, which promotes prejudice.
- Affirmative action suggests that minorities need help to succeed, which undermines their achievement.