Racial battle lines and American political institutions

America’s Racial Battle Lines is an impressive mapping of the contemporary terrain of racial conflict in the US. In this essay, I discuss how scholars can draw on the insights of the book to better understand the intersection of racial conflicts and American political institutions. Smith and King highlight some of the obstacles to the Repair alliance’s reforms and the easier path the Protect has alliance in blocking change. But the book raises as many questions as it answers about how racial cleavages have unfolded across the American political landscape over the past twenty years and how activists and movement organizers might find policy success. I suggest that more research at the intersection of race and American political institutions could help us better understand the challenges to a more equitable American society and also open up space for more effective political strategies to reduce material racial inequality.