Racial Justice Advocacy, Political Representation, and the Contemporary Interest Group Universe

Advocacy organizations have long been a crucial conduit for the construction, articulation, and representation of the interests and identities of African Americans, Latin@s, American Indians, Asian Pacific Americans, and other racialized groups in the United States. These organizations promise to provide a measure of “insider” political access to racialized “outsider” groups by opening up the policy making process and offering them an institutionalized and compensatory source of representation. The extent to which this promise has been fulfilled, however, has been the subject of much debate. This chapter argues that while advocacy organizations have substantially improved the political representation and position of racialized groups, they continue to face many challenges in attempting to fulfill their potential. Suggestions are made about how scholars and activists might clarify these challenges and better confront and dismantle the many inequalities and forms of white privilege that continue to mark American politics, economics, and society.

A Forgotten Minority? A Content Analysis of Asian Pacific Americans in Introductory American Government Textbooks

ABSTRACTTextbooks are the most important pedagogical tools in higher education and they should convey sufficient and accurate information on minority groups and women in the United States. Yet textbooks tend to marginalize these groups in their depictions. This article examines the coverage of Asian Pacific Americans in twenty-eight American Government or Politics textbooks. Asian Pacific Americans have faced a unique history of exclusion, discrimination, and stereotyping. The content analysis of the textbooks reveals that textbooks do not fully cover their history and contributions to US politics, either measured by page numbers or by historical events and figures important to Asian Pacific Americans. To rectify this lack of coverage, this article concludes with five constructive recommendations, including an option to invite scholars on Asian Pacific American politics to serve as textbook reviewers and textbook coauthors.