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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Leveraging Disaster: Promoting Social Justice And Holistic Recovery Through Policy Advocacy After Hurricane Katrina, Tanya B. Corbin Sep 2015

Leveraging Disaster: Promoting Social Justice And Holistic Recovery Through Policy Advocacy After Hurricane Katrina, Tanya B. Corbin

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

After disasters, the recovery process is uneven, and often, the social vulnerability of populations before a disaster translates into a lack of access to political power after the event. This study proposes that a large-scale event presents an opportunity to overcome these challenges and improve social, economic, political, and environmental conditions for affected communities during the recovery process by involving advocates for traditionally marginalized community members in the recovery. Using textual analysis to code the testimony of 240 witnesses who testified in 41 congressional hearings held after Hurricane Katrina, witnesses who advocated for policies that addressed social inequities are identified …


Power, Housing, And The Powerhouse Of Engaged Learning, Sarah C. Valoven Sep 2015

Power, Housing, And The Powerhouse Of Engaged Learning, Sarah C. Valoven

SPACE: Student Perspectives About Civic Engagement

This paper navigates an engaged learning internship experience at a social justice organization during its effort to preserve affordable housing within their community. Affordable housing availability in Chicago has diminished over the decades in the wake of gentrification and economic development, causing the displacement of lower-income occupants. As a student traversing the inner workings of society, the engaged learning course surfaced questions about power, policy and community organizing through the direct exposure to social justice issues. The goal of this course was to inspire students to become civically engaged through active community service with local organizations, and seek answers to …


Redistributing Power In Mississippi: The Reversal Of Section 4 Of The Voting Rights Act, Gloria J. Billingsley, Sylvester Murray Apr 2015

Redistributing Power In Mississippi: The Reversal Of Section 4 Of The Voting Rights Act, Gloria J. Billingsley, Sylvester Murray

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional, essentially defanging preclearance requirements of Section 5 and leaving racial and other previously disenfranchised minorities unprotected. Using social contract theory as the theoretical framework, empirical field study research was used to examine whether the Voting Rights Act has achieved the results in Mississippi that the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke Section 4 has assumed. Data were collected on race-specific voter registration and voting data, measures of vote discrimination, litigations and Mississippi legislative activity regarding voting rights. Findings indicate that the gap between minority and …