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Questions on midterm study guide?

For Tues Bring BLANK blue book

The Death of Asian America?

Post-Racial Politics

Question 1Why does Bedi argue that “law constructs race, and race shapes the criminal justice system”?

“law constructs race” Law and the legal system as

primary mechanisms of racialization

Article 1 of US constitution Three-fifths compromise

Black bodies as less than a person

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 Chinese immigrants as

perpetual foreigners

“race shapes the justice system” Vincent Chin (1982)

“These aren’t the kind of men that you send to jail…” (Judge Kaufman)

Latasha Harlins & Soon Ja Du (1991) "Did Mrs. Du react inappropriately? Absolutely.

But was that reaction understandable? I think that it was.” (Judge Karlin)

Malice Green & Rodney King (1992) “’[African Americans] are defined as criminals

and crimes is defined as what [African American] people do’” (Bedi 187)

Question 2What are postracial politics?

How are they potentially complicit in white supremacy?

Postracial politics“This euphoria and his new message of hope and change have led some to characterize and interpret this as a ‘postracial’ era in which racial discrimination, hierarchies, inequities, and strife are simply erased. A racial barrier has been broken; however, given the legacy of our historical past and persisting racial disparities, reading this election as signifying the postracial era seems premature and disingenuous” (Vo 330)

Postrace is not postracism

“the election of one of ‘us’ does not change the social realities for all or even the majority of ‘us’ given the systematic and pernicious entrenchment of racism in this country” (Vo 330)

“The error is when postrace is mistakenly conflated with postracism, so that the presence of a black family in the White House does not equate to the dissipation of embedded societal disadvantages” (Vo 331)

Changing Race & Class Formations “The fact that the Obama presidency is

occurring simultaneously as the worse economic recession since the Great Depression is consequential” (Vo 332)

Displacement of white middle-class “removes the racial stigma from poverty” but obscures how communities of colors have been disproportionately affected

Black welfare queen of the 90s versus black First Family and Wall Street bail outs (333)

Changing Social Movements

Sept 17, 2011 – mass protest in Zuccotti Park near Wall St

Main points of critique: Increased disparity between rich

and poor (1% vs 99%) Deregulation and increased

rights of corporations versus decreased bargaining power of workers (“Corporations are not people!”)

Austerity measures and slash to welfare programs versus big business bail outs (“Where’s my bail out?”)

Question 3Did coalitional politics fail in the Occupy Oakland movement? Why or why not?

The Death of Asian America?

Jean Quan Mayor of Oakland, former member of

TWLF Proof that postrace does not mean

postracism Oscar Grant

Jan 1, 2009 - shot by Bart police officer Johannes Mehserle who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter & sentenced to 2 years

Renaming of Ogawa Plaza as Oscar Grant Plaza “It was not hard to see the irony of an

‘occupy’ movement displacing a man of color with another man of color, both targets of different kinds of state violence.” (Kenji Liu)