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The Resource Voting rights--and wrongs : the elusive quest for racially fair elections, Abigail Thernstrom

Voting rights--and wrongs : the elusive quest for racially fair elections, Abigail Thernstrom

Creator
Summary
"The 1965 Voting Rights Act is the crown jewel of American civil rights legislation. Its passage marked the death knell of the Jim Crow South. But that was the beginning, not the end, of an important debate on race and representation in American democracy. When is the distribution of political power racially fair? Who counts as a representative of black and Hispanic interests? How we answer such questions shapes our politics and public policy in profound but often unrecognized ways." "The act's Original aim was Simple: Give African Americans the same political opportunity enjoyed by other citizens - the chance to vote, form political coalitions, and elect the candidates of their choice. But in the racist South, it soon became clear that access to the ballot would not, by itself, provide the political opportunity the statute promised. Most southern whites were unwilling to vote for black candidates, and southern states were ready to alter electoral systems to maintain white supremacy." "In this provocative book, Abigail Thernstrom argues that southern resistance to black political power began a process by which the act was radically revised both for good and ill. Congress, the courts, and the Justice Department altered the statute to ensure the election of blacks and Hispanics to legislative bodies ranging from school boards and county councils to the U.S. Congress. Proportional racial representation - equality of results rather than mere equal opportunity - became the revised aim of the act. Blacks came to be treated as politically different - entitled to inequality in the form of a unique political privilege." "Majority-minority districts that reserved seats for blacks and Hispanics succeeded in integrating southern politics. By now, however, those districts may perversely limit the potential power of black officeholders. "Max-black" districts typically elect candidates to the left of most voters; those officeholders rarely run in majority-white settings. Such race-conscious districting discourages the development of centrist, "post-racial" candidates like Barack Obama (who was defeated when he stood for Congress in one such district)." "The Voting Rights Act has become a period piece that today serves to keep most black legislators clustered on the sidelines of American politics - precisely the opposite of what its framers intended. A radically revised law would better serve the political interests of all Americans - minority and white voters alike."--BOOK JACKET
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xx, 316 pages
Contents
  • Introduction
  • The fundamentals
  • Interpreting section 5: the mess the courts have made
  • Interpreting section 2: judges lost in a political thicket
  • Section 5 enforcement: the mischief that government bureaucrats can make
  • The Fourteenth Amendment cases: trafficking in racial stereotyping
  • The Serbonian bog
  • Conclusion: moving on
Isbn
9780844742694
Instance
Label
Voting rights--and wrongs : the elusive quest for racially fair elections
Title
Voting rights--and wrongs
Title remainder
the elusive quest for racially fair elections
Statement of responsibility
Abigail Thernstrom
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
"The 1965 Voting Rights Act is the crown jewel of American civil rights legislation. Its passage marked the death knell of the Jim Crow South. But that was the beginning, not the end, of an important debate on race and representation in American democracy. When is the distribution of political power racially fair? Who counts as a representative of black and Hispanic interests? How we answer such questions shapes our politics and public policy in profound but often unrecognized ways." "The act's Original aim was Simple: Give African Americans the same political opportunity enjoyed by other citizens - the chance to vote, form political coalitions, and elect the candidates of their choice. But in the racist South, it soon became clear that access to the ballot would not, by itself, provide the political opportunity the statute promised. Most southern whites were unwilling to vote for black candidates, and southern states were ready to alter electoral systems to maintain white supremacy." "In this provocative book, Abigail Thernstrom argues that southern resistance to black political power began a process by which the act was radically revised both for good and ill. Congress, the courts, and the Justice Department altered the statute to ensure the election of blacks and Hispanics to legislative bodies ranging from school boards and county councils to the U.S. Congress. Proportional racial representation - equality of results rather than mere equal opportunity - became the revised aim of the act. Blacks came to be treated as politically different - entitled to inequality in the form of a unique political privilege." "Majority-minority districts that reserved seats for blacks and Hispanics succeeded in integrating southern politics. By now, however, those districts may perversely limit the potential power of black officeholders. "Max-black" districts typically elect candidates to the left of most voters; those officeholders rarely run in majority-white settings. Such race-conscious districting discourages the development of centrist, "post-racial" candidates like Barack Obama (who was defeated when he stood for Congress in one such district)." "The Voting Rights Act has become a period piece that today serves to keep most black legislators clustered on the sidelines of American politics - precisely the opposite of what its framers intended. A radically revised law would better serve the political interests of all Americans - minority and white voters alike."--BOOK JACKET
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1936-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Thernstrom, Abigail M.
Dewey number
324.6/208996073
Illustrations
maps
Index
index present
LC call number
JK1924
LC item number
.T47 2009
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • African Americans
  • Elections
  • Voting
  • Election law
  • African Americans
  • Election law
  • Elections
  • Voting
  • United States
Label
Voting rights--and wrongs : the elusive quest for racially fair elections, Abigail Thernstrom
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-301) and indexes
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction -- The fundamentals -- Interpreting section 5: the mess the courts have made -- Interpreting section 2: judges lost in a political thicket -- Section 5 enforcement: the mischief that government bureaucrats can make -- The Fourteenth Amendment cases: trafficking in racial stereotyping -- The Serbonian bog -- Conclusion: moving on
Control code
ocn271080977
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xx, 316 pages
Isbn
9780844742694
Lccn
2009016284
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
map
Label
Voting rights--and wrongs : the elusive quest for racially fair elections, Abigail Thernstrom
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-301) and indexes
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction -- The fundamentals -- Interpreting section 5: the mess the courts have made -- Interpreting section 2: judges lost in a political thicket -- Section 5 enforcement: the mischief that government bureaucrats can make -- The Fourteenth Amendment cases: trafficking in racial stereotyping -- The Serbonian bog -- Conclusion: moving on
Control code
ocn271080977
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xx, 316 pages
Isbn
9780844742694
Lccn
2009016284
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
map

Subject

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