In trying to identify how race affects the political landscape and ideologies in America, it is imperative that one considers the organization of the people into different ethnicities. In such a scenario, the color of the skin often precedes any other categorization. Indeed, the tone and color of the skin is highly emphasized when it comes to determining an individual’s chances in politics and their ultimate identities in life. There exists a major link between an individual’s race or perception of it and political inclination. As evidence shows, an individual’s life has and still is affected by their skin colors since time immemorial. It is for this reason that ethnic and racial in-groups have continually been formed for centuries in the United States. It is indeed these racial in-groups that have shaped political engagements, participation and preferences based on racial policies.
In trying to explore the Latinos, one clearly notes how in-group mobilization is perceived. One instance that depicts this is how their political candidates strongly and successfully create a magnificent mobilization to their voters. Additionally, the decline in control over election campaigns by parties involved has made political candidates take over. Consequently, an emphasis on the qualities of political candidates and subsequent mobilization of their voters has taken centre-stage. This has led to racial in-grouping has that has been a close attribute of the Latino voters (Barreto, 35). A point to note, however, is that racial attachment among the Latinos varies considerably. There arises, then, the need to indicate the degree of ethnic attachment and identification across their populace. Studies tend to show how the mere presence of a Latino candidate increases political boost from Latino voters present. There is increased psychological attachment by the voters to the candidate and feelings of group consciousness are exhibited.
The Black community has its own racial notions too that strongly define their political ideologies. In fact, extremely aggressive political conflicts have arisen in the past years. These conflicts have majorly been as a result of ideological mismatches both within and outside the community. Following separation of blacks from whites in the late nineteenth century, a distinct counter public of blacks was formed (Barreto, 110). The result of this was the rise of independent black ideologies that seemed to differ significantly from those of the whites. One comes to understand the very nature of the black political ideologies as disruptive and impolite (Honig, 62). But like Honig elaborates, this disruptive and impolite nature of the blacks is, unfortunately, the only channel one would use in order to be heard by the authority and general society. Just as Dawson concurs, the ideological thinking present among the Black community has been influenced by a widespread traditional knowledge that even persists in today’s African-American society. This knowledge involves the blacks’ awareness of the struggles they have experienced over the centuries to where they presently stand. According to them, theirs has been a culture of endurance and sustained fight for reforms so that they could also be incorporated in America’s mainstream agenda. This is the main reason as to why the racial identity amongst the Blacks always remains at the forefront of their priorities (Dawson, 47). To this day, there is a solid presence of a widespread Black voting bloc in all states or regions they tend to occupy.
Therefore, it is imperative to note that there exists a similar ideological approach between the Latinos and the Blacks when it comes to America’s politics. However; a point critical to note is that while the Latinos vary widely in their in-grouping, the Blacks often have prioritized the racial agenda in politics and beyond. This is because of the existing voting blocs in the regions that the Blacks occupy.
Works Cited:
Barreto, Matt A. Ethnic Cues: The Role of Shared Ethnicity in Latino Political Participation. Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan Press, 2010. Print.
Dawson, Michael C. Black Visions: The Roots of Contemporary African-American Political Ideologies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. Print.
