Race and Politics in the United States

Race has proven to be a major factor in the United States political climate. While the country has made progress in terms of social relations between races, this demographic has continued to shape the outcomes of elections. Obama’s election is said to be the one instance where race did not factor in United States politics. Throughout his candidacy, Obama tried to establish himself as a presidential candidate outside the confines of race. Still, the race factor proved to be inevitable even from the perspective of Obama himself. During his victory speech, Obama said his now popular line ‘I am the son of a Black man from Kenya and a White woman from Kansas,’ asserted Barack Obama in 2008; ‘and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story possible.’ Coming from someone like Obama, this statement shows that he is still conscious of the fact that race plays a significant role in shaping American politics. This essay seeks to explore the issue of race, its position in the United States politics, its impacts, and causes. Besides, this essay will address how political attitudes have changed in relation to race. Lastly, this paper will compare the United States and Brazil in terms of the causes of racism and their respective patterns in the relations among races of the two countries. In this paper, race will be defined primarily in traditional terms of Whites and Blacks, which provides the best approach to define race relations for the correct scope for this assignment.

Why Race is Important in American Politics

The history of race relations in the United States tell us why race is an important and central factor in the politics of the United States. In this regard, the differences between races make race inevitable in political processes. For instance, the history of slavery makes it inevitable that African American will relate to a politician who appeals to their sense of Justice and need for gratification. Throughout the history of the united States, blacks and other minority races have been oppressed by governments to say the least. Here, we see politicians take advantage of this history to advance their political agenda. While their statements may not be explicit in campaigns and speeches, the implicit messages of equality and reparations have a psychological effects on the racial identity of a voter. A good example of race being a factor in United States politics ca be seen in the election of Barack Obama. As stated earlier, Obama did his best to not present himself as a mixed race candidate. Still, this might be the characteristic that enabled him to receive the support he got across the racial divide. He was relatable to Black voters because of his African origins, to whites because of his white origins, and to Asians because of his stepfather and the time he spent in Indonesia.

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Another reason that explains the importance of race in America is how policy is shaped and created around race (Cottam 2015, 226). Here, race has remained important in American politics because leaders capitalize on the psychological needs of voters. In other words, leaders find a topic or an issue that the target electorate resonates with in order to gain a competitive advantage. As mentioned earlier, the relationship between race and politics is by most accounts implicit. Donald Trump’s election and administration are excellent examples of how policies can be centered around race in an implicit manner, but eventually affect the greater political climate. During his campaign for presidency, Donald Trump emphasized on making America great again. In his speeches, Trump focused on his promise to build a war that would stop illegal immigration. While the morality of his actions is subjective and might be interpreted differently by different people, it is beyond doubt that he might have gone too far. While implicit, Trump made his target voter clearly known. Trump was looking for the support of white Americans who had felt left out by the Obama administration. The use of race for political advantage creates a political problem to the country, and one that could have negative repercussions in future. This is because targeting a specific race promotes racism, and creates an environment of inequality an injustice (Cottam 2015, 332).

Psychological Causes of Racial Categorization, Stereotyping and Prejudice

Psychological roots of racial categorization can be traced in the spontaneous social relations among races. In this regard, people from different races develop certain attitudes towards each other. Even in cases where claimed about a particular race might be wrong, the prejudice that one is fed from their social background influences the decisions they make. It is worth mentioning that the attitudes of a person towards another of a different race depends on a complex interaction of factors, which are independent of their social background (Cottam 2015, 227). Still, the social background of a person determines how they view another race. For instance, a person who was brought up in an environment that categorizes black males as thugs might have an experience that changes this perspective. However, their psychology is subconsciously aware of the messages they received at a certain point of their life, and which might affect their overall attitude towards a stranger of the other race.

The media also feeds the psychology of people and how they relate with other races. In the United States, the reporting of incidences that have racial undertones varies depending on the political orientation of the media house (Cottam 2015, 199). For instance, the killing of an unarmed black male by a police officer may be defended by one media company while it is condemned by another. These attitudes trickle down to the audiences, feeding their psychology and shaping how they view the other race. Here, a voter who gets information from a leftist television station, is more likely to vote for a politician who advocates for reparations. The reason for this is that the person will have a psychological attachment to the condemnation of slavery, as opposed to the justification of opposing reparations. The same person is more likely to vote for a person of color because of the positive reporting on issues that affect people of color and how they are presented as humans or members of the greater society (Cottam 2015, 211).

Shifts in Racial Attitudes in the United States

Since slavery was abolished in the United States, African Americans have struggled to find their place in a society that has not been much welcoming (Cottam 2005, 250). Throughout the 20^th century, the racial relations between Blacks and Whites has not been great in most accounts. The latter ears of the century witnessed many shifts which ranged from bad to better, the back to worse depending on who was in power. In the last three administrations before Donald Trump, presidents focused their campaigns on the unification of the country. While the country was divided in many avenues, race is one of the most divisive aspects in the United States. In the aftermath of Bush’s presidency, race relations in the united states changed significantly in the United States. The election of Obama as president not only showed that racism could be eradicated, but showed that the society itself was willing to set aside racial differences for the greater good. For a number of years, a race-free society appeared to be a possibility for America. Enter Donald Trump, the narrative has changed for the American society. Since the Trump presidency, divisions have been witnessed in the country in a manner not seen for a long time. While the country remains optimistic on the issue of race, the current state of relations are proof enough that things could get worse.

United States vs Brazil and South Africa

Brazil and south Africa and two examples of the worst case scenario of race-based hatred and discrimination. The two countries have also come out as the best examples of how racism can be conquered within a local setting (Guimarães 2000; Cottam 2015, 250). As mentioned above, there have been instances in the past when the United States appeared to be moving towards the right direction, only to fall back to a worse place than before. Historically, the issue of race in these two countries is in many ways similar to the United States. In all three countries, apartheid was used as the primary tool of oppression. However, the United States has remained behind significantly compared to the other two. As case studies, South Africa and Brazil provide viable solutions to the race problem in the united States  (Cottam 2015, 250-251). In both countries, reparations and engagement were the most effective approaches. Here, the governments were held accountable and made to repay the damages that had been inflicted upon the non-whites. The reluctance of the United States to carry out reparations can therefore be seen as the greatest failure by the government, which has continued to feed the resentment and bitterness of African Americans, especially when faced with policies that undermine their position and success in America.

Conclusion

Race has become an recurrent problem in America, despite years of promises by politicians to resolve it. Race and racial categorization continues to shape the politics in Americans. Here, race is used by politicians to make pledges about their policies in order to attract voters. Race and attitudes towards other races shape the psychology of Americans, which is reflected in voting patterns and the current divisions across the country. Recent developments on the issue of race show the failure of the United States as a country to resolve the issue of race. When compared to South Africa and Brazil; two other countries with an history of racism, America scores poorly. The failure by the United states t resolve this issue can be attributed to the country’s rejection of reparations which have worked in both Brazil and South Africa. Going by the success of the two countries in eradicating racism, reparations seem to be the best way to go for America.

Bibliography

Guimarães, Antonio Sérgio Alfredo, and Linn Huntley. “Beyond racism: race and inequality in Brazil, South Africa and the United States.” London: Lynne Rienner (2000).

Cottam, Martha L., Elena Mastors, Thomas Preston, and Beth Dietz. Introduction to political psychology. Routledge, 2015.