The Political Uses of Race and Ethnicity: Ethno-racial References in the Toronto and Chicago Municipal Elections

• In Event: 261 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Race and Racialized Politics

Abstract

This paper examines references to race and ethnicity in 838 campaign flyers, brochures, door hangers, and direct mail pieces that 231 candidates for city council distributed during the 2014 Toronto and 2015 Chicago municipal elections. The findings pinpoint electoral campaigning as a major source of ethno-racial meaning. Candidates engaged race and ethnicity in five ways. They invoked ethno-racial stratification or cultural symbols and practices, cited endorsements from ethno-racial leaders and organizations, used heritage languages, and visually represented members of ethno-racial groups. The respective appearance of these references in Toronto and Chicago reflects but arguably also reproduces the cities’ different political cultures. Black and Latino candidates in Chicago frequently mobilized perceptions of exclusion, discrimination, and conflict, while in Toronto candidates of all backgrounds portrayed ethnicity as a valued source of culture and group-based political inclusion. Implications for the study of ethno-racial politics, the “race and place” literature, and the political incorporation of immigrants are discussed.

Author

• Jan Doering, McGill University