American Politics Commons^™

Latinx Political Leadership In Massachusetts, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Christa Kelleher, Fabián Torres-Ardila

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Fact Sheet provides an overview of Latinx political leadership and representation in Massachusetts, including a historical timeline and data about electoral politics and gender.

The Shallow End Of The Deep South: Civil Rights Activism In Arkansas, 1865-1970, Sarah Riva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

On April 7, 1968, Governor Winthrop Rockefeller claimed that “Arkansas today stands at the threshold of leading the nation...for a better America,” The Republican Arkansas Governor spoke on the steps of the state capitol at a memorial for the beloved civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. who had been assassinated three days earlier. Rockefeller’s claim that Arkansas could lead the nation came just two years after the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formally ended its work in the state to improve racial equality. Their efforts had seen widespread acceptance of integrated public facilities, increased voter registration and more meaningful …

Racial Stereotypes, Respectability Politics, And Running For President: Examining Andrew Yang's And Barack Obama's Presidential Bids, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of the pandemic, Andrew Yang’s response to anti-Asian American violence was criticized for placing responsibility on Asian Americans rather than those perpetrating the hate crimes. This article explores how "warring ideals for people of color can cause a lot of internal dissonance about what to say and how to act in certain situations.

See Original Blog Post on Internet.

Status Of Mineral Ownership Underlying The Missouri River Within The Boundaries Of The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (North Dakota), Department Of The Interior, Daniel H. Jorjani

US Government Documents Related to Indigenous Nations

This memorandum, dated May 26, 2020, from the United States Department of the Interior (Office of the Solicitor) to the Assistant Secretary of US Indian Affairs and the Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management rescinds the Solicitor’s January 18, 2017 opinion regarding mineral rights on the Fort Berthold Reservation and asserts that the state of North Dakota, not the Three Affiliated Tribes, is the legal owner of the submerged lands beneath the Missouri River. The Solicitor cites the “Historical Examination of the Missouri River within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Precontact-1902” and his interpretation of laws and case precedent …

Geographic Imaginaries Of Urban Spatial Segregation: A Case Study Of The West End Neighborhoods In Louisville, Kentucky., Amber Dock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to translate the framework of geographic imaginaries into an urban context in order to capture a narrative of how residents conceptualize and experience segregation. This framework is rooted in an investigation of local discourses as they exist within a specific social, political, and historical context. Institutionalized segregation and structural racism are the foundations on which the American urban context studied here was built upon. This study employs multiple methods, including contextualizing the study area, analyzing discursive content, and visualizing the results. The results of these analyses included empirically connecting concentrations of protected classes to …

'The Once Peaceful Little Town:' Edmondson, Arkansas, And The Decline Of African American Landownership, Samuel Morris Ownbey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the systematic dispossession of African American property by white planters in the Arkansas Delta. It argues white planters, backed by a legal system favorable to their interests, expropriated the black land in the once flourishing community of Edmondson, Arkansas. Founded in 1902 by African American business and political leaders, the Edmondson Home and Improvement Company purchased farmland and town lots and began to sell or rent the land to African Americans coming to the area. Located in Crittenden County, Edmondson represented black defiance in the face of Jim Crow laws and white supremacy. The town consisted of …

The Use Of The Birth Control Movement As A Eugenics Weapon, 1920'S-1960'S, Peyton P. Holstein

Young Historians Conference

While Margaret Sanger made great strides in the crusade for legalization and open access to birth control for women, groups paired her work with ideologies such as Social Darwinism to arm the eugenics movement throughout the Twentieth-century. The eugenics movement was a culmination of racism and newly found scientific theories which led a crusade to purify the American population through reproductive cherry-picking on the basis of race. One of the primary ways that this group attempted to weed out “undesirable” races within the American population was through birth control as well as sterilization. These two movements - birth control and …

The Consistency Of Voting Habits Among College Students, Mychala Walker

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference

For generations, it was suggested that college students do not vote, despite research suggesting that voting is habit forming and youth voting can determine the trend for future civic engagement. The purpose of this project is to determine if voter disenfranchisement is the cause of such a lack of civil engagement among college students. I believed that college students did not vote because of the unclear laws and regulations regarding voting as a student. To collect data, I surveyed 71 Virginia State University students of various classifications and majors. Questions regarding demographics, voter registration status, and past voting history were …

Anna Julia Cooper: Radical Relationality And The Ethics Of Interdependence, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Contributions to Books

In her range of activities as orator, scholar, community activist, and educator, Anna Julia Cooper demonstrates a basic orientation toward life that paradigmatically exemplifies a proto-feminist politics based in intersectional analysis. Addressing problematic gendered, racialized, and class power dynamics in various institutions, Cooper sought a readjustment of relationships among all Americans that would ensure the dignity and worth of each individual. A close reading of her corpus also shows Cooper consistently identifying principles that advanced nuanced approaches to justice, freedom, and equality. In this chapter, I propose that Cooper’s mature intellectual vision demonstrates a particular vision of a transformed America, …

Foster Rhodes Jackson And The Visual Conquest Of The West, Eve Kaufman

Scripps Senior Theses

Colonizers settled the Los Angeles and the Southern California region in part by using Modernism’s visual rhetoric and propagandic implications during the time of suburban sprawl. Suburban sprawl refers to the mass single family home development which took place from the 1920^[1]s until now but peaked from the 1970s to the 1990s. Los Angeles sprawl grew particularly in the 1950^[2]s as soldiers returned from WWII. It was a way for middle class white families to accrue generational wealth and follow through on the American Dream^[3].

The primary result however disenfranchised already marginalized groups. This …

Increasing Latino Participation Rates In The 2020 Census In Chelsea, Ma, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Daniela Bravo, Franklin Ortiz

Gastón Institute Publications

Having an accurate count of the city of Chelsea’s Latino population will require strategic organizing by government officials and community leaders. If there is an undercount of the population, especially of immigrants who live in Chelsea, there will be long-term and potentially devastating effects on the city’s political power and less federal funding to address the needs of its Latino majority. We hope the results from this qualitative study will inform policies and recommendations to increase the participation of Chelsea residents in the upcoming 2020 Census. We hope the results will aid in developing culturally specific outreach strategies to inform …

The Politics Of Annexation: Oligarchic Power In A Southern City, John V. Moeser, Rutledge M. Dennis

The Politics of Annexation

This Open Access Edition of The Politics of Annexation presents a newly formatted version of the original 1982 edition. The text itself has been edited only for non-substantive style changes and corrections. The Preface, the new Introduction (“Fifty Years Later”), and the index were prepared especially for this edition. The original edition was published by Schenkman Publishing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is available online through the UR Scholarship Repository at https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/307/

The Politics of Annexation examines the process of American cities using annexation of suburban areas as a tool to increase their tax base and generate new revenue. The authors …

Torn Apart: A Closer Look At Our Cover Image, Sandra Rios

Culture, Society, and Praxis

No abstract provided.

Decolonizing Urban Indian Institutions: Indigenous Authority In Boise, Idaho, Melanie Lee Fillmore

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

American Indigenous populations are underrepresented in American political science discourse. There is a lack of knowledge on public perception of political trust within Indigenous communities. I argue that contemporary discourses on data and political participation of American Indigenous people are incomplete without framing that data within the context of ongoing settler colonialism. National data shows that nearly 71% of all American Indigenous people live in urban settings. Framing American Indigenous political participation requires an in depth examination of the role of American Settler colonialism. Studies need to account for the impact of Federal government use of authority has had on …

Andrew T. Hatcher: Press, Public Information & Perception For A Nation In Transition Historical Content Analysis On The First African American To Serve As A White House Associate Press Secretary, Nayita Wilson

LSU Master's Theses

Andrew T. Hatcher rose to one of the highest positions in U.S. government when he became the first African American to serve as associate White House press secretary in 1960 under the administration of President John F. Kennedy and during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. This is a historical content analysis that analyzes Hatcher’s role through primary sources, presidential archives, and select national, local, and minority newspapers.

The overarching purpose of this study was to ascertain Hatcher’s role as associate White House press secretary during civil rights. This study provides further insight into: 1) to what extent did …

Ua12/2/2 2019 Talisman: Balance, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

2019 Talisman yearbook.

• Mohr, Olivia. Balance
• Lunte, Hailee. That Warm Feeling Autumn Took from Me
• Dozer, Claire. Mother Load – Savannah Ranney
• Hubbs, Annalee. Tap After Hours – Dance
• Lancaster, Emily. Opposites Attract – Maddie Rediker & Cameron Blankenship
• Jones, Sydney. Delving into the Dirty – Taylor Gossage, Lion’s Den
• Chu, Phi. Snow Song
• Gordon, Zora. Spells & Spirit – Kristen Dalby, Witchcraft
• Powers, Noah. What is Left – Kelly Meredith, Identity Theft
• Aklilu, Bethel. Uprooting – International Students
• Steffey, Raegan. The Dirty Art Kids
• Dieudonne, Nadia. Self Starteres – Entrepreneurs
• Bass, Morgan. Young & Partisan – Politics
• Powers, Noah. …

Challenging Voting Rights And Political Participation In State Courts, Irving Joyner

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Handcuffing The Vote: Diluting Minority Voting Power Through Prison Gerrymandering And Felon Disenfranchisement, Rebecca Harrison Stevens, Meagan Taylor Harding, Joaquin Gonzalez, Emily Eby

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

For the purposes of legislative redistricting, Texas counts prison populations at the address of the prison in which they are incarcerated at the time of the census, rather than their home prior to incarceration—regardless of whether the prisoners themselves maintain a residence in their home communities and intend to return home after incarceration. This deprives those home communities of full representation in the redistricting process. Combined with Texas’s felon disenfranchisement laws, this also results in arbitrarily bolstering the representational power of some Texans on the backs of other Texans who themselves are unable to vote. All of this takes place …

Making Democracy Count: The Seemingly Technical Procedures That Can Make Or Break A Census, Charlotte Schwartz, Jeffrey Zalesin, Rachel Brown

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Media Discourses That Normalize Colonial Relations: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of (Im)Migrants And Refugees, Meng Zhao, Jorge Rodriguez, Lilia D. Monzó

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The im(migration) and refugee crisis that are being exacerbated under the Trump administration, is a manifestation of empire-building and the long history of colonization of the Global South. A Marxist-humanist perspective recognizes these as consistent aspects of a clearly racist global capitalism that functions in the interest of multibillion dollar U.S.–based corporations and increasingly transnational corporations. Trade agreements, international economic policy, political intervention, invasion or the threat of these, often secure corporate interests in specific countries and regions. The authors use critical discourse analysis to examine the discourses around Mexican, Central American, and Syrian im(migrants) and refugees as examples of …

God And Governance: Reflections On Living In The Belly Of The Beast, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In this critical rage article, Peter McLaren unleashes his revolutionary critique aimed at capitalist injustice behind postdigital socio-technological developments, historical forms of injustice such as racism and colonialism, and recent political events and developments including but not limited to US interventions in Latin America and the presidency of Donald Trump. Rising from two important prongs of McLaren’s work—revolutionary critical pedagogy and liberation theology—the article connects myth, religion, science, politics, technology, and humanity. The article reveals McLaren’s most intimate thoughts and experiences and aligns them with sophisticated theory and philosophy. It dances between the individual and the collective, the realistic and …

Latino Political Leadership In Massachusetts – 2019, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Christa M. Kelleher, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

There is very limited Latino presence in the State Senate, with one Latina State Senator in office; having five Latinos in the Senate would be proportionate to the statewide Latino population. Six Latinos serve in the 160-member House of Representatives; eighteen would be proportionate. There are no Latinos in the state’s congressional delegation.

City councilors and members of school committees account for 83% of all Latinos serving in key elected leadership positions. The top 20 cities and towns with the largest proportions of Latino residents in Massachusetts account for 57% of the Latino population in the state. Among these cities …

Latino Political Leadership In Massachusetts: 2019, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Christa M. Kelleher, Fabián Torres-Ardila

Gastón Institute Publications

There is very limited Latino presence in the State Senate, with one Latina State Senator in office; having five Latinos in the Senate would be proportionate to the statewide Latino population. Six Latinos serve in the 160-member House of Representatives; eighteen would be proportionate. There are no Latinos in the state’s congressional delegation.

City councilors and members of school committees account for 83% of all Latinos serving in key elected leadership positions. The top 20 cities and towns with the largest proportions of Latino residents in Massachusetts account for 57% of the Latino population in the state. Among these cities …

Does Money Indeed Buy Happiness? “The Forms Of Capital” In Fitzgerald’S Gatsby And Watts’ No One Is Coming To Save Us, Allie Harrison Vernon

English (MA) Theses

Looking primarily at two critically acclaimed texts that concern themselves with American citizenship—F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Stephanie Powell Watts’ No One is Coming to Save Us—I analyze the claims made about citizenship identities, rights, and consequential access to said rights. I ask, how do these narratives about citizenship sustain, create, or re-envision American myth? Similarly, how do the narratives interact with the dominant culture at large? Do any of these texts achieve oppositional value, and/or modify the complex hegemonic structure? I use Pierre Bourdieu’s “The Forms of Capital” to investigate the ways in which economic, cultural, …

Silence As A Strategy, Jarvis L. Steele

Honors College Theses

Understanding the struggle that is peaceful protest is a task that has two unexplored components. The first is how leaders of political movements and protest groups are able to influence the masses to not waiver in their non-violent, peaceful approach. The second is how political groups learn from the failures and successes of the previous campaigns. We are given these circumstances where governmental violence and abuse would normally lead to a retaliatory response from groups, but in order to maintain the fidelity of the movement leaders of these political protests have to protect the nonviolent approach. These are instances where …

Perceptions Of The North American Free Trade Agreement And Mexican Migration: “What Is The Relationship Between Trade Liberalization And Labor Mobility?”, Colin Gonzalez

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an effort to understand the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the author uses previous academic literature to assesses the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s primary and peripheral goals. To understand how North American citizens, perceive NAFTA and their future relationship with one another, the author uses survey data to analyze attitudes of American and Mexican citizens towards trade liberalization (NAFTA) and labor mobility. Regression analysis reveals that there is a positive relationship between labor mobility and trade liberalization for Mexican citizens but not for American citizens. This is a significant finding that contributes …

The Mixed Reception Of The Hamilton Premiere In Puerto Rico, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this article originally published in The Atlantic, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner wonders about the challenges of premiering the famed Broadway musical, Hamilton, during a time of political discord in the aftermath of 2017's Hurricane Maria, in Puerto Rico.

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

The Legalization Of Street Vending In Los Angeles: Exploring The Impact On Vendors And Their Livelihoods, Karen Alpuche Caceres

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis aims to unpack the impact the legalization of street vending and the subsequent regulation had on sidewalk vendors. Although legalization occurred state-wide through Senate Bill 946 in September of 2017, the rules and regulations for vending were passed at a city-level, and I am focusing on the City of Los Angeles specifically. Through interviews with government officials, non-profit partners and advocates, and vendors from different parts of the City, I analyze information around the policy itself, its history, and the impact it has and is expected to have on vendors and their businesses. While vendors have been central …

Developing And Sustaining Political Citizenship For Poor And Marginalized People: The Evelyn T. Butts Story, Kenneth Cooper Alexander

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study tells the deep, rich story of Evelyn T. Butts, a grassroots civil rights champion in Norfolk, Virginia, whose bridge leadership style can teach and inspire new generations about political, community, and social change. Butts used neighbor-to-neighbor skills to keep her community connected with the national civil rights movement, which had heavily relied on grassroots leaders—especially women—for much of its success in overthrowing America’s Jim Crow system of segregation and suppression. She is best-known for her 1963 lawsuit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1966 decision to ban poll taxes for state and local elections, a democratizing event …