Racial Disenfranchisement
Title
Racial Disenfranchisement
Author
Hutchings, Vincent L.
Phoenix, Davin L.
Research Area
Class, Status and Power
Topic
Race and Ethnicity
Abstract
Inquiries into racial disenfranchisement offer a crucial lens through which to critically assess the capacity of the US political system to sufficiently respond to the demands of an increasingly diverse society. Various social science disciplines have employed a range of theoretical frameworks and methodologies to explore the institutional, cultural, and psychological antecedents of disenfranchisement, as well as strategies to achieve racial equity. This essay reviews a small slice of the scholarly perspectives offered on racial inequity. It provides particular emphasis on theories of racial subjugation, racial attitudes, and the political behavior of racial minorities. The discussion of current and future trends in research on racial disenfranchisement explores the questions raised and insight offered by examinations of the distinct experiences of diverse racial and ethnic minority groups, as well as the potential impact of the “Obama era” on the state of race relations in the United States.