1. Race and American Society 3 questions: 1. What role should racial and ethnic identity play in our national, state and local politics

2. 2. What role should our system of governance, that is, the state, play in facilitating the expression and maintenance of racial and ethnic distinctiveness?

3. 3. Whose interests, in both long and short terms, will be served by a politics that is informed by racial and ethnic perspectives.

4. The birth of our political system: the constitution, incorporates race very distinctly. The political system has discriminated by gender and race for most of its history. Policies in the 60s and 70s attempted to rectify these past harms by again focusing on race.

5. Race should play a smaller role in politics when all groups have gained equal “political incorporation” 1.Electoral influence 2.Representation 3.Policy benefits

6. Fraga makes the argument that this has not truly happened, especially in regards to policy benefits Evidence? Lower median incomes, higher drop out rates, higher rates of poverty

7. Why hasn’t political participation and representation led to more policy benefits? Lag time Capitalism helps maintain income gap Criminal Justice policies Others?

8. Strategies to increase policy benefits? Must realize 1.What is “good for America” is not automatically good for _______ 2.When competition is between the haves and the have nots, the haves usually win. 3.Political coalitions cannot be sustained on a moral, friendly, sentimental basis, or appeals of conscience

9. All parties involved are self-interested Viable coalitions require specific and identifiable—as opposed to general and vague—goals A new policy image –Clear goal –Clear discussion of the causal linkages that underlie the attainment of the goal –Measures of success must be specific

10. Coalition building: we live in a majoritarian society, require collective action outside the “group” Clear identification of beneficial consequences – for multiple groups

11. Still a role for the ethnic entrepreneur litigation Monitoring Coalition building Collective Action Leadership