Tapas Course 6 - Please More Members of Congress who look like me!
The legislative branch was designed as the branch of the people, meaning that each state's representatives were not decided by the whole country, but rather by each individual voting district within a state. Therefore, each member is elected by the constituents of their district, giving them the opportunity to make decisions (vote) based on what was best for their district. There are 535 members of the 111th US congress. Of those members, 154 (roughly 29%) are minorities or people of color (US Congress). 40% of the US population is white and male. This leaves 60% of the US population that is considered a minority of some sort (2000 US Census). There is an overwhelming disparity between the make-up of the US population (i.e. the majority of people are in some way considering a minority in either ethnicity or gender) and those who represent them in congress (white, male). There are many ways to analyze this disparity. One way to do so is to examine gender and racial repression in this country. In the previous tapas course 1, the foundations of our nation addressed this question. The systems of gerrymandering and voting trends can be evaluated to see how political seat borders have increased/decreased the number of minority members in congress. Another way to explore this disparity is to explore the route minority members took to become a part of the U.S. Congress. By analyzing the methods in which minorities are elected to congress, my students can determine if a minority representative is actually representing the minorities of their district (with legislation and voting behavior) and whether a congress that is truly representative of the actual demographics of the nation has any bearing on minorities rights.
Illinois, the state in which I teach, and Chicago, the city in which all my students reside, has many members of congress that would be classified as minorities (women and/or people of color). There is a rich and distinguished tradition of minority Illinois representatives in US government, a legacy that is becoming even more prominent. President Obama, former Illinois senator was the only African American in the senate and has now become the first minority President in the history of the United States. His successor, Senator Roland Burris, continues as the lone African American in the Senate. Of the 21 total congressmen from the state of Illinois, 9 are minorities (roughly 42%). This figure is considerably higher than the national average. Many of these representatives have served in Washington for some time and are strongly supported in their districts. There are many reasons for the continued success of Illinois' minority senators. Chicago's population is not only very large, but it is also extremely diverse. More than half of the state's population lives within the Chicago metropolitan area; over half of that population can be classified as minority (2000 US Census). Chicago has always been a city segregated by race and ethnicity, with immigrants and minorities forming densely populated, homogeneous neighborhoods. When district lines are drawn every ten years, these densely populated neighborhoods, largely dominated by one racial or ethnic group, give rise to districts that are reflective of that minority population. This has led to a consistent minority representative in Congress from these districts.
Recent years have seen minority politicians from non-traditional areas making inroads in being elected to office and moving into positions of power in the government. The legislative branch, rather than the executive or judicial branch, is often the logical first step towards surmounting the present majority. 2009 has seen the first minority in the executive branch (President Obama) and the first Latina in the judicial branch (Justice Sotomayor). While these are certainly landmark events, the driving question of this curriculum unit still remains: will all of these appointments lead to more rights for minority Americans? Are these elected officials a representation of changes in race and gender? To gain a better understanding of this question, this tapas course will have students analyze their voting records of their local representatives to determine if they are truly representing the interests of their constituency.
Many websites have been created to track congress members legislation and voting records. This is available to anyone who accesses these websites. Which allows every citizen to see for themselves how their representative is acting and whether it is in accordance or to the benefit to the district. These sites are used by many political players from national parties, to challengers seeking office, to political action committees drumming support for a politician or even a cause. The ease of Internet access in today's society allows even the computer novice to read though this information and become a more informed voter. Hopefully voting age Americans to make continence decisions on their representatives will use these sites more.
In "Tapas Course 4 - Polling, Statistics, Data, do all these numbers really mean anything?" polling data was used to understand if President Obama has really held up the policy change promises that he had made during the campaign. Course 6 will reinforce the understandings of that analysis by looking at the demographics of the actual voters who voted President Obama into office as the first minority president. Looking at the 2008 election results, minority voters were more likely to vote for Obama then McCain by more then 10% in certain minority groups and as high as 91% in others. Along gender, Obama margin of victory was greater in women, 13% to men 1%. The votes were quite similar cross referencing gender and race, meaning that looking at race results non dependent on gender, was a more determining factor in voting behavior. In every race segment, women had a higher percentage of voters for Obama then McCain. The only segments that McCain had higher percentages of votes were by white Americans (CNN Exit Polling).
What does all these statistics mean? Well they do give political analysts a better understanding of the voters who voted each way, but the fact that in almost every category based in race, religion, gender, occupation and income moved toward Democratic in their presidential vote says something about the candidate, but also the change in society over even four years (Pollster.com). Looking at voting by a state to state, Obama was able to win traditional Republican states. This can be seen by the increase in minority voters voting in 2008, but also by amount of voters, who voted for George W. Bush in 2004, changing parties and voting for the Democratic candidate Barack Obama. In the majority of counties nationwide, Obama changed more voters to the Democratic ticket them McCain did for the Republicans (Voting Shift Map).
By both looking at congressional representation and also the 2008 presidential election from the view of understanding whether minorities are being represented and whether those representatives are making policy changes that are leading to more rights for those who have been historically been stricken of rights, will be integral in the overall goals of this curriculum unit.
Strategies:
Students will research the nine minority representatives from Illinois, in particular their rise to their seat in congress. Students will also scrutinize each congressman's committee membership, bills that they have written or cosponsored, and their voting record. By analyzing this information, students should be able to get a picture of their representative, their previous political affiliations and professions, as well as their actions while in congress.
Students will also study each district that has elected their respective congressmen. Students will research the demographic breakdown of the district and analyze what issues would likely be of importance to the constituents of that neighborhood. This analysis will help students to make some decisions on where the constituents would stand on major issues. Students will use data from polling sites, media and various other outlets. The class will formulate a rationale to address whether or not their representatives are truly representing their constituent's interests in congress. Students will work in groups to discuss each representative and their district and then report on their research findings. After students present their findings, the class will discuss how the congressmen from Illinois represent the state's minorities. A larger part of the discussion will focus on the congress as a whole, in particular if our Illinois congressmen (in addition to those from other states) are doing an adequate job of representing minorities nationwide.
Maps and charts are a great way to look at the results data and understand it's meaning geographically, but also as a measurement of different information. Having students look and decipher these mediums can get them to express their knowledge of the material covered in the course, but also relate different information together. Students will form groups and look at one map and one chart. They will write down what they see in each, how the map and the chart relate and what the significance of there results would be to understand the big picture of the 2008 election. We will post the maps and charts up and the students will present their findings. The class will discuss what they see in the charts and how it relates to the overlying theme, which is minority representation.
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