Race And Diversity In American Politics

The United States is a nation of great ethnic diversity and it is seen as a ‘melting pot’ of races, culture, languages and religions. As a result US politics has come to incorporate the combination of different people in American society. There are many controversies surrounding race in US politics, including the notion of Affirmative Action. The US political scene was in the twentieth century surrounded by issues of racial equality and saw the emergence of powerful leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and the introduction of powerful pressure groups such as the Congress of Racial Equality and the Nation Of Islam.

Politics in the USA first began to integrate race and diversity into its policies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. After the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation a gradual change came about that determined equality in politics. The nineteenth century had seen attempts to use the Constitution to guarantee rights and representation for racial minorities. It can be argued that the Civil Rights Act (1866) was the first time in US political history that race was the subject of the government policy. Through the 14th and 15th Amendments the US constitution
It entailed giving members of a previously disadvantaged community a head start in such areas as higher education and employment. This policy is still active in US society and is now required by law for all federal government agencies and for those organisations that receive federal funds. Affirmative Action shadows the US political scope as it is seen as a highly controversial programme. Many believe that enough has been done to right the wrongs of the past and if this programme should continue it will result in non-minority groups being discriminated