Political Racism And The Consequences

Our nation's reliance upon winner-take-all elections and single member districts for Congressional elections without national standards has left our voting process open to the abuses of unfair partisan gerrymandering. In the Partisan Gerrymandering simulation game I played, I found that it was more difficult to draw my party lines due to the fact there were many voters that were opposite of my political views. I really had to Gerrymander to win my districts, but I did in the best interests of my constituents (or at least that’s what my created politician would think!). The Court ruling on my plan stated that I did not meet compactness laws but it was still approved. As far as the current laws on gerrymandering, six justices in 2006 produced 123 pages of opinions, without any five of them able to agree on how to define an unconstitutional gerrymander. Politicians of both parties said that the ruling over the 2003 Congressional

Say there is a state with a population of fifty, now three fifths of that state are democratic and the other two fifths are republican, now we need to separate this state into five congressional districts. The best way to do this would be so there are two republican representatives and three democratic. However with gerrymandering democrats can draw districts that are unfair and they get all five representatives, but if republicans draw the districts they can draw them were there are three republican representatives and only two democratic representatives. This process is seen through many states. In North Carolina forty-four percent of voters voted democratic, however thanks to a creative congressional map, seventy- seven percent of representatives were republican. The twelfth district in North Carolina is considered the most gerrymandered district in the country, and is home to two more of the top ten gerrymandered districts. Republicans rule six of the most Gerrymandered states, including North Carolina, Louisiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Alabama. The other four

Party Polarization is a defining feature of contemporary at both the elite and activist levels. Party polarization is defined as “the division between the two major parties on most political issues, with members of each party unified around their party’s positions with little crossover” (371). One explanation for party polarization is how the congressional districts are being sorted and how those districts play a role in the congressional elections. The congressional districts are drawn to favor one political party, republican or democrat, over another; in other words, they are “safe districts”. This is done by drawing a district in such a way that there is a clear majority of one party or the other. Lawmakers want to do this because it eliminates the competition within the general election.

There are obvious flaws in the American political system. However, gerrymandering, which has been undermining American democracy since the nation’s birth, has remained widely unknown. Gerrymandering, which occurs across the United States, is used by Democrats and Republicans to maximize the number of congressional seats they capture. Every ten years, the government conducts a census. Following the census, state legislatures redraw congressional districts to reflect population changes. However, state legislatures are often controlled by a single political party that unfairly redraws congressional districts in order to win more seats in the House of Representatives (Ingraham). Politicians concentrate the voting strength of the opposition

In addition, Gerrymandering, done correctly, can be used to promote competitive elections, so one party does not necessarily have an advantage over the other. As a result, the voters are more likely to retain their voice in local and national politics. However, these types of Gerrymandering are largely decided by the states, so the corruptness of redistricting is accordingly different from state to state. Wisconsin, for example, has a large issue with political gerrymandering, so much so that they took the problem all the way to the Supreme Court. In the 2010 elections, Republicans swept the legislature in the state, and, with the issuance of the Republican rule, the need for compromise vanished, leaving the redistricting of Wisconsin to the power-hungry majority party.

With districts drawn to favor one party the same party will win more seats in the House giving them the upper

America is a land of the free and the home of the brave. In our democracy the citizens choose the leaders, Right? Wrong. In the House of Representatives and state legislatures, a practice called gerrymandering has been prominent since the early 1800’s(Barasch). Gerrymandering nullifies Americans’ right to vote and lessens the leverage of racial minorities’ in the election of our congressman.

Politics in the United States is a complex structure that is comprised of many systems. While most of these systems appear to work well, there are a few that are broken. A perfect example of a broken system is the district boundaries and the likelihood of gerrymandering. Multiple states across the country are subjected to gerrymandering, which is the act of dividing a county into election districts that provide one political party with an unfair advantage over the other. Gerrymandering is used to help or prevent a particular demographic from gaining adequate representation. In Florida, for example, there is controversy over Congressional District 5, which extends from Jacksonville down to Orlando in a way that creates a “minority-majority” district.

The most important theme in this book was the trials and tribulations of racism because it was woven in every part of the plot, it contributed to the conflict and resolutions, and gave the story a connection to current events, helping the reader’s comprehension.

The United States of America has been built on a democratic foundation to protect and serve “we the people.” The current government has two main parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, and they will stop at nothing to maintain their positions within the government. Unfortunately, gerrymandering is an action

While coming up with a topic for this paper, one of my questions dealt with war and cultural groups. I will be the first to admit, Racism was the last thing on my mind. The original question being, “How does war affect a Social Culture and how does it stand today?” When I started thinking about Cultures that had been so deeply affected by war, one of the first that came to mind were the Japanese in World War II. Then I recalled what one person had told me of their younger days at college, when they were attending school. Their name will remain anonymous; I do not want to make the victim’s name public as it has a very personal nature.

In the time period of 1900’s throughout the 1920's, the governmental system and economic with social rapid industrialization conflicts were introduced to America. Progressivism initiated as a social movement with elite women and cultivated into a political evolution.Their initial goals were regarded as with the concerns society encountered: class warfare, poverty, greed, racism, and clashes within genders could best be attempted by proffering a dynamic workplace excluding discrimination, a healthy environment, and political innovation.

However, in the 112th Congress, there are only 41 African-American members of the House of Representatives and no African-Americans in the Senate. This could be put down to a number of reasons: gerrymandering (the practice of redrawing congressional districts to disperse [black] communities), lack of finance among the black community, or perhaps it is just because of an ongoing culture of white superiority left in the aftermath of slavery.

The promise of having your voice heard and vote matter has been a cornerstone of America. Every time elections come around we are told that every vote counts. Voting is meant to let the people pick their representatives but what happens then representatives get to pick their voter? Thanks to a law that lets the state legislature draw district lines, the state can essential rig the election by staking the odds against a certain party. Most of us will readily agree that gerrymandering should be outlawed but where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how to stop it. Whereas some are convinced that the responsibility falls upon the judicial system, others maintain that the courts are ineffective in managing gerrymandering and so turn to other solutions.

Racism is an ongoing force that negatively impacts the lives of Americans every day. The racist mindset in America stems from the times of slavery, where blacks were thought to be inferior to whites. Throughout history, the ideology of race and racism has evolved and developed several different meanings. Today, we can still see the devastating effects of racism on people of color, as well as whites. “Racism, like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as beliefs and actions of individual” (Tatum, pg. 9). As a result of this system, it leaves the