The Ideas That Are Reshaping The Democratic Party And America – By Perry Bacon Jr. (Five Thirty-Eight) / Mar 16 2021
Many Americans probably don’t know exactly what terms such as anti-racism, “cancel culture,” “racial equity,” “white privilege” and “systemic racism” mean. And it’s likely even fewer could explain such concepts as “woke ideology,” “critical race theory” or “intersectionality.”
But these terms are now regularly invoked by activists, pundits and even some elected officials. Why? Largely because of two separate but related trends in American culture and politics. First, American institutions and voters, particularly on the left — who have become more attuned and liberal on racial issues amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and increased attention on police killings of African Americans — are now making a similar shift on other issues invoking equality and identity. That leftward shift is resulting in new initiatives and policies from corporations, local and state governments and, with President Biden in office, the federal government too. Many of these policies emanated from concepts like anti-racism and systemic racism that originated in academic or activist circles.
Second, many conservatives and Republican officials are now regularly invoking the term “woke” as an all-encompassing term for liberal ideas they don’t like, particularly ones that have emerged recently, and warning that conservatives who object to these ideas are increasingly being “canceled.”
So it’s worth unpacking this new language and explaining what policies and values are behind them. This piece will focus on the political left and one later in the week on the right.
CONTINUE > https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-ideas-that-are-reshaping-the-democratic-party-and-america/
