Identity Politics and Political Identities

Race to the White House 2008  -  October 27th 2008,  6:00pm - 8:00pm.

Program Description 

One week before the 2008 Presidential Election, the core faculty members of CRS at UCLA will host a public forum and panel discussion about the role of race, gender, and other social identity categories, in the 2008 presidential election.  They will explore the various ways in which ancestry, color, national origin, class, religion, sexual orientation, and political ideology have intersected and "raced" this year's contenders, the political discourse, and policy positions.  Law School Building, Room 1347.

If you plan to attend this event in person, please RSVP to crs@law.ucla.edu

You can view a live webcast of this event, by clicking here during the event.

To get a preview of what might be coming, scroll below to see what the core faculty have already said about the election.

Just prior to this event, from 5pm to 6pm, CRS will co-sponsor a "Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965and Drive to End Electoral Disenfranchisement in the United States" in the Law School Courtyard.  Join us to celebrate the role of the Voting Rights Act in reducing obstacles to the free exercise of the right to vote in the U.S. and to learn about opportunities to participate in election protection activities on November 4th. 

The Celebration of Voting Rights and Drive to End Electoral Disenfranchisement in the United States
 is co-sponsored by the Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, the American Constitution Society, the Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association, the Black Law Students Association, the La Raza Law Students Association, the Jewish Law Students Association, Law Students for Reproductive Justice,
the Muslim Law Students Association, and the Native American Law Students Association at UCLA. 

Refreshments will be served.

Participating Faculty Members

Jerry Kang, Moderator

Khaled Abou El Fadl
Devon Carbado
Kimberle Crenshaw
Carole Goldberg
Cheryl Harris
Gerald Lopez
Russell Robinson
Saul Sarabia

CRS Faculty Reflections on the Election 2008

CRS Faculty Director, Jerry Kang has published two pieces about Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy for President:

• Why Obama? (Korea Times)
• Ozawa and Obama (National Law Journal)
  
  
  
  

Professor Kimberle Crenshaw has examined the race and gender dynamics in this Presidential cycle:

• Professor Crenshaw co-authors "Feminist Ultimatums:  Not in Our Name" (Huffington Post)
• Audio of Professor Crenshaw's Appearance on NPR regarding her response to Gloria Steinem on race and gender in this year's election
• Professor Crenshaw Quoted in Washington Post Column on Role of Race and Gender in Current Presidential Election
  
  

Professor Devon Carbado published an op-ed about the racial double bind of Senator Barack Obama:

• 'What Voters 'Don't Ask' but Can 'Tell' About Obama's Race' (Los Angeles Daily Journal)
  

CRS Administrative Director, Saul Sarabia, examined the promise and limitations for racial progress in the 2008 election:

• "From Rodney King to Barack Obama: America Confronts another Racial Moment" (KoreAm Magazine)

Other Materials Exploring the Presidential Election and Racial Communities,
Social Identities, and Political Discourse

The "Race Speech" delivered by Senator Obama, Reactions, and Analysis:

• YouTube Video of Senator Barack Obama's speech on race, "A More Perfect Union"
  • Video of Pat Buchanan's analysis of Sen. Obama's speech on race
  • Video of Newt Gingrich's analysis of Sen. Obama's speech on race
  • Video of Rinku Sen, President of the Applied Research Center, analyzing Obama's race speech
• LA Times Columnist, Gregory Rodriguez publishes "Obama's brilliant bad speech" 

African Americans and the 2008 Election:   

• LA Times columnist Erin Aubry Kaplan rejects the notion of Obama as a "post-racial" candidate
  
  

Arab Americans and the 2008 Election:

• Politico.com article: "McCain:  Obama not an Arab; crowd boos"
• CNN Commentary: "So What if Obama was a Muslim or an Arab?"
• American Arab Anti Discrimination League Statement on McCain's Response to Arab Slur
• UCLA Law Alumnus, Khaled Beydoun ('04), argues that Arab Americans have been embraced by the Obama campaign and rejected by the McCain campaign
• Arab American Institute clips, op-eds, and analysis of Presidential candidates

Asian Americans and the 2008 Election:

• National Asian American Survey Oct. 2008 (the best work on Asian American voting attitudes / preferences)
• AALDEF survey identifies Asian American voter prioirities in 2008 Election and voting trends among APIs
  
  
  

European Americans, White Voters, and the 2008 Election:

• LA Times news story "Frank Talk on Obama and Race in Virginia"
• LA Times news story "For Obama, an uphill climb in Appalachia"
  

Latinos/as and the 2008 Election:      

• Founding Co-Director of CRS at UCLA, Professor Laura Gomez, exposes the race-baiting underlying claims that Latinos won't vote for a Black Presidential candidate:  
  

Native Americans and the 2008 Election:

     NY Times article on Senator John McCain's relationship to the Indian gaming tribes

Jewish Voters and the 2008 Election:

• Jewish comedienne, Sarah Silverman's Video describing "The Great Schlep," an outreach effort on behalf of Obama's candidacy targeting senior Jewish voters in Florida (viewer discretion advised)
• Suzanne Fields' oped in Jewish World News explaining why McCain is a good alternative to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton 
• "Obama more popular with Jews than Senator Lieberman,"  Huffington Post
• Democrats, Republicans Pitch to Jewish Voters
  

Labor Unions, Workers Rights and Race in the 2008 Election:                      

• YouTube Video of the AFl-CIO's Richard Trumka's Speech on Anti-Racism, the Labor Movement,
  and Obama's Candidacy
  

Muslim Americans, Islamophobia, and the 2008 Election:

• YouTube Video:  Muslims for McCain Reject anti-Islamic Rally Attendees
• Muslim Public Affairs Council Commends Colin Powell for Comments about Muslim Americans
• Council on American Islamic Relations asks candidates to repudiate Islamophobia in final presidential debate 
• Commentary by Salaam Al-Marayati, Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, on Islamophobia and the 2008 Election
• Muslim American conservative describes how major parties responded to Muslim endorsements in the past
  and suggests McCain ticket will advance favorable policies
• Muslim American Democrat articulates arguments in support of the Obama candidacy.
• Muslim Public Affairs Council asserts that Guliani and Romney's speeches at the Republican National Convention equate Islam and Terrorism.
• Interfaith Religious Leaders Denounce Distribution of anti-Muslim DVD to 28 million households in swing states just before the 2008 Election
  

Women, Gender, and the 2008 Election:

• NPR Interview and NY Times Op-Ed:  Gloria Steinem on Gender and the Democratic Primary
• CNN Article:  Race or Gender:  Black Women in the South Carolina Primary    
• AFP Article:  Palin Pick Pushes Women's Group back to Obama     
  

      If you would like to suggest additional material that might enrich this discussion, please email it to us for consideration at crs@law.ucla.edu

 Other Election-Related Programs on these themes

On October 7th, The ACS at UCLA will host a simulcast of "Voting Rights in 2008:  How do We Ensure Every Vote Counts? "   This panel presentation will feature leading civil rights lawyers examining existing laws and social practices that can enhance or inhibit voter turn-out in 2008.