Interview: Ian Haney Lopez Talks Racism And Politics

We are now 28 days from the election, and there so many storylines that have emerged this election cycle it can be hard to keep up. There’s a global pandemic, a sputtering economy and high unemployment. There are real concerns with election security and mail-in voting, about whether President Donald J. Trump will accept the results of the election, and a president that is sick with COVID-19. But an element of American elections that has remained constant over time is the centrality of the race and class — at least since passage of the 15th and 19th amendments. The parties have, at different times, used these issues to appeal to and divide voters.

Our guest has written extensively—both from a historical and modern day perspective—about the role of dog-whistle politics, and how race and class can decide elections.

Guest:

Ian Haney Lopez, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at UC - Berkeley, and author of several books including most recently Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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