The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today (OCR A-Level Politics): Revision Notes

20.5.1 Racial Rights Campaigns: Methods, Influence, and Impact on Policy

Methods, Influence, and Effectiveness of Racial Rights Campaigns

Methodology	Strengths	Weaknesses
Demonstrations and Civil Resistance	• Important in a representative democracy as politicians depend on public votes. • Shows the weight of public opinion. • • Example: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. • Women's March drew more than 500,000 people to Washington to protest against Trump and to fight for women's rights.	• Small-scale protests on important issues may not have as much of an impact on policy-making because they don't have the representation that 'mass movements' do.
Legal Methods	• Groups can bring cases to be heard before the Supreme Court, setting precedents that can have a wide-reaching impact on other cases and on American citizens • Supreme Court rulings on public policy can have a significant impact on many people. • Example: Brown v. Board of Education declared segregation in schools unconstitutional.	• The Supreme Court does not have to hear every case; they choose what they will hear, and they cannot enforce decisions themselves.
Voter Registration Drives	• Involved in educating the public about their voting rights, explaining voting processes, and helping people register to vote. • Movements in the 1960s, 2016, and 2020 led to increased voter turnout among Native Americans and Black Americans. • Example: In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement was credited with helping to increase Black voter turnout in Georgia, leading to Democratic victories in presidential and US Senate races that gave them control of both houses of Congress and helped President Joe Biden enact his legislative agenda.	• May increase the likelihood of certain groups (e.g., Democrats) being voted in, but it doesn't guarantee change unless those political parties fulfil their promises to make those changes.
Media and Social Media	• Technology has allowed for pressure to be placed on people in power with indirect methods. • Twitter has grown movements such as #BLM and #MeToo, which have organised mass protests like the Women's March in 2017. • 72% of Black social media users have used social media to promote their causes and remove discriminatory policies. • It is a free platform accessible to everyone.	• Not everyone uses social media, and there is low censorship, which can promote extremist views.

BLM Movement 2013-2021

• Origins and Reignition:
  • Emerged during the aftermath of the death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin.
  • Saw a series of high-profile police brutality incidents.
  • Reignited in 2020 after the death of George Floyd during an arrest, sparking a global wave of protests.
  • Impacted political discourse, policy debates, and the 2020 presidential election.
  • Highlighted persistent challenges in racial equality and marked a new era of civil rights activism, focusing on inclusivity and intersectionality.

Legislative Success

• Local Level:
  • Aimed to reform police practices and confront systemic racism within the criminal justice system.
  • Key goals included:
  • Demilitarising the police.
  • Implementing accountability measures, such as body cameras.
  • Redirecting funding from police departments to social services.
  • This led to the formation of oversight committees and stricter use-of-force policies.
  • In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, the police department was replaced with a community-led public safety system.
• National Level:
  • George Floyd Justice in Policing Act:
  • Sought to address issues like chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and qualified immunity for officers.
  • Passed the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate due to resistance to removing immunity for police officers.
  • The BREATHE Act:
  • Advocated for more transformative changes, such as diverting funds from extensive policing.
  • Has yet to gain legislative traction at the national level.

Timeline: Changing African American Rights

Year	Event
1787	The Three-Fifths Compromise allows for the counting of enslaved people as three-fifths of a person when determining state populations.
1808	Congress bans the further importation of enslaved people into the USA.
1857	The Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v Sandford ruled that Congress does not have the power to ban slavery in the USA.
1861-65	The US Civil War leads to the abolition of slavery.
1865	The 13th Amendment constitutionally abolishes slavery.
1868	The 14th Amendment revokes the Three-Fifths Compromise, guarantees equal rights of US citizens, and includes the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause.
1870	The 15th Amendment prohibits the right to vote from being denied on the basis of colour or race.
1896	The Supreme Court case of Plessy v Ferguson allows for the separation of white and African American facilities provided they are 'separate but equal.'
1948	President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the US Army.
1954	The Supreme Court case of Brown v Board of Education overturns the 1896 ruling of 'separate but equal,' desegregating US schools.
1958	The Loving v Virginia ruling legalises interracial marriage.
1963	Martin Luther King, Jr.'s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom becomes the largest protest in the capital, with over 250,000 attending.
1964	The Civil Rights Act is passed, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race or colour.
1965	The Voting Rights Act is passed.
1978	The Supreme Court case of Regents of the University of California v Bakke upholds the use of affirmative actions within limited circumstances.
2003	Grutter v Bollinger allows the continued use of affirmative action.
2020	George Floyd and Black Lives Matter global protests.
2022	Emmett Till Antilynching Act was signed into law.