Introduction
The prosperity of a democracy and the growth of philanthropy are inextricably linked to civic action. Citizens protect and preserve certain democratic ideals outlined in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights by practicing civic responsibility. They include elements such as freedom, justice, equality, human rights, and diversity, which are disregarded in the perpetuation of police brutality and the unfair treatment of immigrants. The evaluation of the theoretical underpinnings of civic action is vital for contextualizing social and political issues that impact lives in the United States.
Summary of Issues
Police Brutality
Police brutality is a serious political issue in the United States. Protests broke out throughout the United States and the world on May 25, 2020, in response to the killing of George Floyd (Acheme & Cionea, 2022). Floyd’s murder was just one of many instances of police brutality and racialized violence against black Americans. A bag of Skittles led to the untimely demise of Trayvon Martin in 2012, while in 2014, Eric Garner was choked on the sidewalk while shocked onlookers watched helplessly (Acheme & Cionea, 2022). Philando Castile lost his life during a traffic stop in 2016, while in 2020, Breonna Taylor was shot dead as she slept in her bed (Acheme & Cionea, 2022).
According to a June 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 30% of black men said they had experienced police violence(Acheme & Cionea, 2022). In addition, the report noted that 41% of black Americans said they had been subjected to frisks, searches, and detention by law enforcement due to their ethnicity (Acheme & Cionea, 2022). The viciousness with which black lives have been extinguished demands effective and far-reaching civic action.
Racial inequality in the U.S. influences stereotypes and portrayals of black people in the media and in social interactions. For instance, black men are stereotyped as criminals and gangsters (Acheme & Cionea, 2022). The aforementioned preconceptions serve as justification for racialized brutality and harsh punishment in the criminal justice system.
According to Acheme and Cionea (2022), black people are more likely to experience police brutality than whites. This includes the use of excessive force, verbal abuse, and psychological intimidation. Stereotypes against black men from low-income households have been used to justify violence against them (Acheme & Cionea, 2022). The prevalence of racial bias contributes to the high incidence of police brutality in communities of color.
The Immigration Crisis
People around the world often flee inhospitable conditions in their native countries in search of better opportunities. Approximately 47 million people, with and without official residency permits, currently live in the United States, making it the country with the largest immigrant population in the world (Pineo, 2020). It is estimated that immigrants make up 14% of the total population (Pineo, 2020).
Unauthorized immigration to the United States is punishable by law. Individuals risk criminal charges and up to two years in federal prison if they disobey court orders barring their entry (Pineo, 2020). Consequently, a large number of migrants are being detained in U.S. prisons for unlawful re-entry. Individuals captured at or near the U.S. border may be subject to expedited removal, meaning they may be sent back to their country of origin without a hearing or the opportunity to appeal (Pineo, 2020). Exceptions are made for individuals who claim asylum, for which the U.S. has stringent and limited options.
The immigration crisis has been addressed using uncouth and inhumane strategies. For instance, in April 2018, the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy sought to criminally prosecute anyone found entering the United States without authorization (Pineo, 2020). As a result, an estimated 3,000 children were separated from their parents and detained in inhospitable conditions (Pineo, 2020).
After significant public outcry, the policy was dropped, after which the authorities struggled to reunite families that were separated as a result of ill-informed policies. It is worth noting that the practice of separating children from their parents continues at border points under the guise of child protection (Pineo, 2020). Such destructive policies have contributed to the challenges immigrants face as they seek refuge within America’s borders.
Civic Actions
Protests and Social Movements
The U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom to protest, stating that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, … or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” (Acheme & Cionea, 2022, p. 32). This implies that individuals have the right to assemble and persuade the government to address societal challenges and grievances. Social movements and protests enable people in a community to express their complaints and concerns about their welfare, rights, and general well-being by participating in group activities that highlight their issues. Social groups with specific identities significantly shape protests and social movements.
People who consider themselves to be members of a specific social category or who share a common attribute make up a social group. Social groups derive meaning from experiences shaped by socially constructed categories, such as race, developed within a societal context (Pineo, 2020). Membership in a social group shapes a person’s self-concept, which is represented by their social identity. It is an essential component of a person’s identity because it facilitates their interpretation of their experiences in light of the values and meanings that social groupings ascribe to various words, symbols, languages, and behaviors (Pineo, 2020). There are specific theories that explicate protests and social movements.
The motivation to engage in specific civic actions stems from individual identities. The social identity theory (SIT), developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1979, describes how people react when their social identities are threatened (Pineo, 2020). The model contributes to the understanding of how protests affect identity formation.
According to the theory, people work hard to retain positive social identities that they have acquired by affiliating with specific social groups (Pineo, 2020). To develop positive social identities, members of social groups compare ingroup and outgroup conditions. In instances where social identity is negative, as when comparisons with the outgroup lead to a deleterious outcome, people are driven to seek alternatives (Pineo, 2020). One way Black people try to address negative social identities, such as stereotypes that perpetuate violence against members of their communities, is through protests and social movements. The Black Lives Matter movement is one vivid example of civic action.
Voting
Voting is the process by which a group of individuals comes together to make a collective decision. The process is particularly effective in choosing leaders at various levels of government. The Process Model of Behavior Change (PMBC) explains why people exhibit persistent voting patterns at particular times (Ternovski, 2023).
Any behavior must occur within a recursive cycle comprising specific stages stipulated by the PMBC (Ternovski, 2023). People first appreciate the existence of an event, such as election day (Ternovski, 2023). Specific aspects of the events then grab the people’s attention. They include scenarios such as witnessing news coverage of the forthcoming election (Ternovski, 2023).
They then evaluate the situation using individual cost-benefit analyses to decide whether voting is worthwhile and select the best course of action (Ternovski, 2023). However, this model also highlights that there are ways to bypass the appraisal stage, given that it is considered cognitively taxing. This means that voters do not often weigh the benefits and costs of voting.
Chosen Civic Actions
Protests
Engagement in protests is an effective way to ensure the government implements policies to address the highlighted political issues. The rationale for choosing protests as a favorable civic action is grounded in a wealth of literature detailing how protests draw attention to political issues. For example, additional congressional hearings were held in response to growing anti-Vietnam War protests (Dunivin et al., 2022).
Research on the Civil Rights Movement reveals that demonstrations for Black rights were associated with increased White House discussions of voting and housing rights (Dunivin et al., 2022). The debates precipitated a plethora of legislative and administrative initiatives designed to address the plight of African Americans. The ability of late-19th-century anti-alcohol campaigners to project their message through newspapers helped pave the way for the 18th Amendment’s ratification in 1919 (Dunivin et al., 2022). Peaceful protests are an effective way of ensuring issues such as police brutality and the immigration crisis gain the attention they require.
Voting
The voting process is an effective way of instituting change. The appraisal of the issues impacting society and the potential solutions presented by candidates enables individuals to decide whom to vote for in an election. The rationale for voting as a civic action is that the process provides a platform to assess a candidate’s credibility and dedication to specific issues. In addition, it is a constitutionally mandated activity that must be conducted regularly to ensure that citizens have the opportunity to highlight specific issues that need to be addressed.
Conclusion
The assessment of the theoretical foundations of civic engagement is essential, given that it places the social and political concerns that affect people’s lives in context. The savagery with which Black lives have been lost highlights the need for extensive and effective civic action. The high rate of police violence in communities of color is caused, in part, by the pervasiveness of racial bias. Inhumane and boorish tactics have been used to address the immigration situation.
The difficulties immigrants encounter when trying to find safety within American borders are the result of such harmful policies. There is therefore a need to engage in civic action, such as protests and voting, to ensure that changes are implemented in the policies governing police and immigration bodies. It is the people’s responsibility to hold the government accountable when inalienable rights are abused, and specific groups are targeted to ensure that justice, diversity, and freedom are protected.
References
Acheme, D. E., & Cionea, I. A. (2022). Protest structures: Responses from Nigerians in the United States to police brutality and #blacklivesmatter protests. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 41(1), 29–48.
Dunivin, Z. O., Yan, H. Y., Ince, J., & Rojas, F. (2022). Black Lives Matter protests shift public discourse. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(10), 1-11.
Pineo, R. (2020). Immigration crisis: The United States under President Donald J. Trump. Journal of Developing Societies, 36(1), 7–40.
Ternovski, J. (2023). Making sense of voting “habits”: Applying the process model of behavior change to a series of large-scale get-out-the-vote experiments. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 1–16.