Altered Civic Participation: A Theoretical Intervention Into Existing Conceptualizations of Civic Participation Among People of Color

• In Event: Race as Intervention in Media/Communication Studies

Abstract

The decennial U.S. Census survey is widely understood as an opportunity for residents to make themselves count in data that informs the governing of the country. Groups or individuals who do not participate, or who give false information, are considered apathetic and misinformed about this opportunity for civic participation. This negative labeling of these nonparticipants often maps onto non-white races. In an attempt to encourage participation among communities of color, the Census Bureau developed a racially targeted Integrated Communication Campaign featuring messages intended to ease fears and assure data confidentiality. While designing targeted communication efforts is an important effort, I argue that we consider these acts of resistance as forms of unconventional civic participation. By focusing on the 2010 Census boycott and false responses submitted by communities of color, I develop a framework called “altered civic participation” that challenges prevailing concepts of civic participation in communication and media studies.

Author

• Jahmese Fort, U of California, San Diego