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This article says a small portion of blacks will vote for Donald Trump. Then expresses this is due to republican treatment and different policies that have been made. Which is why blacks stay democrats, which is ironic because they were the party for slavery.

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In this article it claims Race is the single most important factor in American democracy. And it determines many decisions like elections. It also claims that races defines who gets the short end of the stick of policies, and who holds party power.

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Race is shown to be the single most important factor in American democracy, determining which candidates win elections, which voters win at the polls, and who is on the losing end of policy. These conclusions are at the center of a new book entitled "Dangerously Divided: How Race and Class Shape Winning and Losing in American Politics," by Zoltan Hajnal, professor of political science at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy.

"Arguably, we are now more divided by race than at any other time in modern American history," Hajnal said. "Even those who are well aware of America's racial divide may be shocked by the degree to which it is a force in virtually all U.S. elections."

Hajnal's research draws on sweeping data to assess the political impact of the two most significant demographic trends of last 50 years. While the U.S. has become more racially diverse, income inequality has increased. Yet, Hajnal argues that the country is still more divided by race, than class. "Ironically, as the nation has become more diverse, it has become more divided by the diversity," Hajnal writes.

The book provides insights into how immigration has become a major contributor in our deepening divide, as it has triggered a backlash that has increased white defections from the Democratic Party. Hajnal covered this topic extensively in his last book, " White Backlash: Immigration, Race, and American Politics," co-authored with Marisa Abrajano, professor of political science in the Division of Social Sciences at UC San Diego. Their 2015 study, which is the basis for the book, predicted the outcome of the 2016 election and was voted among the top 10 social science studies of the last decade by Vox.com.

Winners and losers of elections defined by actions of the federal government

Hajnal used data from a range of public opinion surveys over the last half century that polled about half million Americans on their preferences on a wide range of policy issues. These surveys represent the thoughts of American voters on whether there should be increases or decreases in government spending across 11 different areas of public policy: military spending, healthcare, transportation, gun control, minimum wage, etc.

Zoltan Hajnal has authored award-winning books on racial and ethnic politics, urban politics, immigration and political behavior.
Courtesy photo

Hajnal (above) is professor of political science at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy and is director of the school's Master of Public Policy Program.

Hajnal then evaluated if federal government spending eventually reflected the preferences of the majority of Americans over four decades. While the data revealed that American democracy is fairly responsive to constituents; one variable stood out-black voters were 5 percent more likely than whites to have their policy preferences ignored by the federal government.

"Blacks are losing to whites significantly more than any other comparison group-men vs. women, rich vs. poor, liberal vs. conservative," he said. "One could argue that white voters represent the majority so why wouldn't they have more of a say? However, when I dug deeper, the issue is more problematic because of the consistency at which the will of black voters is not enacted by the federal government in issue after issue, year after year."

Hajnal does not have an explanation for this pattern; however, he points out that even when blacks have the same policy preferences as white voters, their preferences are weighed less heavily than that of whites, so there does appear to be some discrimination in the process.

Political parties are singularly the greatest determinant of the racial balance of power

Hajnal notes that there are some years where black voters do not lose that much in comparison to whites, and other years where election outcomes respond equally to the desires of both black and white constituents. He found the variation could be explained by which political party controls the levers of power, revealing that when there's a Republican president and congress, the gap is large. When there's a Democratic president and Republican congress, the gap is smaller but still exists; and when there's a Democratic president and congress, the gap disappears.

Additional data reveals that black incomes went up by an average of $753 more per year under Democratic presidents than under Republican presidents. Black unemployment also fell substantially under Democratic control, while it grew significantly under Republicans. In 22 years under Democratic presidents, black unemployment fell 7.9 points. This is not the case under Republican presidents. By contrast, in 35 years under Republican leadership, black unemployment grew 13.7 points.

"If we care about American democracy and want it to be as fair as it can be, there is in some sense, a pathway forward," Hajnal said.

Making a difference by teaching future generations the power of public policy

A scholar of racial and ethnic politics, urban politics, immigration and political behavior, Hajnal directs the School of Global Policy and Strategy's Master of Public Policy (MPP) program. The two-year, professional degree program prepares students for policymaking in an increasingly global business and legislative landscape.

Hajnal joined the school's faculty in 2017 specifically to oversee the new MPP program. His previous appointment was in the UC San Diego Department of Political Science for more than 15 years.

Zoltan Hajnal on America's racial divide
Credit: UC San Diego

"For me personally, it is important to be involved in a community that cares about and is engaged with policy and to be teaching students who are likely to have a real impact on the world moving forward," said Hajnal. "All of us involved in the public policy realm wholeheartedly believe that policy is an important tool to improve the wellbeing of everyone in society,"

He added that the program trains students to study public policy in a rigorous and systematic way, allowing them to develop better solutions as well as more efficient and equitable policy that can improve outcomes for societies.

For more information, go to the Master of Public Policy program webpage. Read more about Zoltan Hajnal on the School of Global Policy & Strategy website.

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A nation dangerously divided: How race shapes who wins and who loses in U.S. democracy

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Race is shown to be the single most important factor in American democracy, determining which candidates win elections, which voters win at the polls, and who is on the losing end of policy.

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In this article it talks about how senator Tim Scott responding to Joe Biden saying America is not racist. Then Kamala Harris agreed with him. But then it states all the facts that America is racist. Like how Black people are less likely to identify as middle class compared to whites. And how white privilege helps poor white people prevail.

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South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott shocked many people when, in response to President Joe Biden's congressional address, he stated that " America is not a racist country ." He admitted that he himself had experienced " the pain of discrimination, " and noted, " I know what it feels like to be pulled over for no reason, to be followed around a store while I'm shopping. " When asked o n ABC's Good Morning America the following day , Vice President Kamala Harris s eemed to agree with Scott when she s aid , "I don't think America is a racist country." Yet immediately following this sentence she quickly pointed out , "But we also do have to speak truth about the history of racism in our country and its existence today."

As Soledad O'Brien said, "It sounds like a racist country to me," in to Scott-but it seemingly applies to comments by Harris as well. President Biden, who seemed to not pull any punches during his speech, stated, "W e have a real chance to root out systemic racism that America ." However, Biden appeared to his remarks on The Today Show to align more with Harris and Scott (to a certain degree) by noting that slavery and Jim Crow laws had a cost.

It is almost as if simply saying America is not racist, but then turning the other cheek and saying it is racist in subtler terms and that racist things have been done to you makes it ok. It is confusing to Americans and the international community. To supporters, these comments are disappointing . To others, they were shocking. For me , the cognitive dissonance of some of our elected leaders is real and explainable . The re is an oversimplification of racism in America, because as sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva notes, there can be systemic racism without racists.

W hen a person critique s America for the racism that i s deeply embedded in our social institutions, some feel they are being personally attacked. This is because deep down they realize that they benefit from unearned assets associated with whiteness. Scott, Harris, and Biden recognize this and try to balance these varying perspectives as they worry about voters nationally and in a state like South Carolina.

Recently, a at a city council meeting had a meltdown when trying to explain why she does not want critical race theory taught in her children's school. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that s ystemic racism as a concept is " a bunch of horse manure ." So, not only has Florida made it legal to harm people protesting, but he banned teaching critical race theory in schools. For a deeper dive on critical race theory , people should read the work of sociologists Victor and Ted , who lay out why DeSantis' perspective is problematic .

I conducted with Matt Hunt on what predicts who believes they are middle class. For education, income, and occupational prestige, Black people are less likely to identify as middle class compared to whites with comparable levels of these socioeconomic outcomes. Why? It is because social class is not just about what a person looks like on paper , but how people experience social class in everyday life and t he deference that one receives for their socioeconomic status. Black people are less likely to get that deference, while white people are often afforded more. It is so commonplace for white people that some cannot fathom living without it. This is because many white people, particularly white people with lower levels of education and income, realize that comes with a premium that extends beyond economics to include cultural and social capital. As Pr esident Lyndon Johnson said, " If you can the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and h e'll empty his pockets for you."

Harris and Scotts' comments are puzzling at a broader level as well considering how much of a collective memory their experiences with racism are- Harris reliving her systemic experiences with bussing and Scott recounting the nearly 20 times he has been pulled over by police, where being an elected official potentially made the interaction worse.

These stories acknowledge that life is different if you are Black, and unfortunately systemic racism seems to ripple through our social institutions and into our daily social interactions, whether in Congress or at a coffee shop down the street from the Capitol. These type s of experiences-racialized cuts and hurdles- have a cumulative effect on . Sociologist s Pam Jackson and Jason Cummings' research documents that middle-class Blacks have worse health profiles than working-class whites. They attribute this difference to the daily racialized trauma experienced in predominately white environments like work and neighborhood settings.

Systemically, we know that Black people compared to whites are more likely to attend schools with less funding per student, less likely to obtain a job because of our "Black-sounding" name or even when attending an Ivy League university , less likely to obtain a (even when having the same credit score ), have their homes appraised for equitable value, more likely to experience pregnancy complications and maternal mortality , and more likely to have contact with police and the criminal justice system .

Systemic racism inhibits (rather than prohibits like in the past) people's ability to actualize all aspects of the American Dream. This occurs  even for highly-educated Black people with high incomes and no criminal record. In fact, research documents that white people with a criminal record are more likely to get called back for a job than Black people without one.

Research documents that hard work (or lack thereof ), intellect, or criminality do not explain these outcomes. Instead, it is the embedded deeply within our social institutions' , rules, regulations, and laws that segment people's experiences along racial lines. It is the same for gender. Women can achieve but have a much harder time doing so. If not, America would have had a woman vice president and speaker of the House sitting behind the p resident long before 2021.

What people do not seem to realize is that being upwardly mobile does not negate encountering racist hurdles on the pathway to success. Our current system is set up for some people to have to jump over hurdles to succeed, while others get to simply run to the finish line without those sa me racial hurdles. Rather , it is about whether the pathways to success are equitable . This is what America says it is: an equitable democracy. People are pushing for America to reach its true ideal s and the only way this can properly occur is acknowledging the systemic barriers that prevent us from getting there. Moreover, it is not that racial progress has not been made. It is that the United States has yet to make enough progress. In this regard, comment s of our top elected officials are disappointing, yet predictable.

Black people who succeed often walk on pins and needles because they realize that their success, and more so maintaining it, is precarious.   As a result, some Black people aim to make white pe ople feel comfortable. Many of us are mostly socialized to do so. I t is often a survival strategy for our lives during police encounters or economic survival in boardrooms. Some of us who succeed may experience "survivor's remorse" because we are some of the few to "make it." We actually embody the American Dream and become the in-person example to people who do not want to admit that systemic racism exists. We may even convince ourselves that racism is more prominent on the individual level than the institutional level. We simultaneously represent racial progress but are also most likely to be subjugated to racial discrimination because of the predominately white spaces we are embedded within. We experience a chronic form of double-consciousness   and admitting as such can often lead us to being conscious of the slow death we often experience through the cumulative racist cuts and hurdles we encounter.   The American Dream being achievable for a few does not absolve the system and an imperfect union, even when some of those successful people try to rationalize systemic racism away.

In most instances: When Black parents worry about their straight-A student's traffic encounters with the police more than they do a potential accident, this is because of experiences with racism. When a Black couple is about to have a baby and has to think consciously about what hospital to deliver in so they can obtain equitable care, this is racism. When a Black parent worries about their child attending a prestigious university outside of an urban area, this is often because of the racism they worry about them encountering driving to the school and even once physically on the campus of the school. And even more urban universities are not absolved from .

Systemic racism is not simply a thing of the past. It is up close and personal in the present.

R acism may be no more transparent in an institution with the least representative racial progress like the Senate. There have only been 11 Black senators in roughly 232 years. Clearly, the Senate is the exact space we need people with the courage to say the blunt, honest truth about our nation's past and present. Only then can we actualize a future where systemic racism does not exist. It is imperative for a , reconciliation, and reparative process to commence. This starts with atoning for the enslavement of of Africans whose descendants contin uously fall systemically behind , whether they end up being the lone Black Republican senator or a Black police officer who might have the power to pull him over.   We must have the courage to speak truth to power and one of the places it starts is in Congress.   "If not now, then when?"

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South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott shocked many people when, in response to President Joe Biden's congressional address, he stated that " America is not a racist country ." He admitted that he himself had experienced " the pain of discrimination, " and noted, " I know what it feels like to be pulled over for no reason, to be followed around a store while I'm shopping.