Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Full Court Press: The Influence Of Midnight Basketball, Talk Radio, And Racial Coding On The Violent Crime Control And Law Enforcement Act Of 1994, George “Matt” Patino

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

During the latter half of the twentieth century, “dog whistle” rhetoric increasingly entered the common vernacular, normalized by politicians and media personalities. Initially, the terminology was ambiguous, but it became racially charged when the media started broadcasting images of African Americans alongside the “thug” label. This research explores how “dog whistles” were, in part, a neoconservative response to the liberal policies of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his “Great Society.”

This study explores how “Great Society” policies aimed to balance the liberal expansion of Civil Rights with neoconservative “law and order” policing strategies. This research also investigates how right-wing talk …