Demby’s “The Birth of a New Civil Rights Movement” (2014)
Summary
Racial inequality and biased population-police relationships remain the two burning questions in the United States. The deaths of black citizens Ramarley Graham, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner and no punishment for white police officers create a solid background for a new wave of civil rights movements in the country (Demby, 2014). Many people are involved in discussing this topic, and the author of the article focuses on the differences between the protestors due to their experience, age, and vision.
Shortcoming
In this article, attention was paid to the conditions under which the millennial movement was re-energized between 2013 and 2014. Despite the intention to prove the impact of the generation gap in civil movements, not all reasons were properly evidenced. For example, the third explanation about young unknowns and old activists lacks reliable sources to trace the changes and make the necessary comparison of the situation.
Illing’s “White Identity Politics Is About More Than Racism” (2019)
Summary
The relationships between the representatives of different groups are mostly complex in American communities, and the current article proves the existing diversity. Illing (2019) shared a conversation with Ashley Jardina, a Duke political scientist, about national diversification as the question of power, status, and identity. This reading shows why the recognition of black freedoms and regular movements might challenge or even weaken white identity and promote new demographic changes, affecting US politics and society.
Shortcoming
This conversation is based on arguments offered by Jardina and opinions developed by Illing. However, there are many aspects that need better evidence to convince the reader. For example, Jardina (as cited in Illing, 2019) mentions the diversity growth in the United States during the late 1990s. Still, it is hard to understand what she was talking about because the number of events that changed the demographics is great, and no specific data was given. At least a couple of real-life situations should be described to prove the appropriateness of the arguments.
Levin’s “The Fate of the Filibuster” (2022)
Summary
In the United States, voting rights and the system, in general, are commonly discussed at multiple levels. A number of conditions and rules should be met to promote a particular reform, and the controversies between Democrats and Republicans continue to grow. Levine (2022) discusses how debates and votes are arranged, addressing the “talking filibuster” rule, according to which a debate cannot end as long as a senator from a minority party wants to speak. There are certain pros and cons to this rule, but the worth of traditions should not be ignored.
Shortcoming
In the chosen article, several names and historical events were mentioned. One of the shortages is the inability to provide enough evidence of the condition when the talking filibuster rule was dropped in the 1970s. On the one hand, it is clear that the positions supported by Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema need some time to be examined and changed if possible. On the other hand, the reader could learn more about the moment when the rule was proved to be ineffective for US politics.
References
Demby, G. (2014). The birth of a new civil rights Movement. Politico Magazine.
Illing, S. (2019). White identity politics is about more than racism. Vox.
Levine, M. (2022). The fate of the filibuster: Your guide to the changes Dems really want. Politico.