provisions that followed its implementation. Having suffered through three revisions, the authors argue that the Voting Rights Act became less of an effort of enfranchisement, and more of an effort towards ensuring black leadership in the government. They claim that the Voting Rights Act lost the moral clarity that it once had in the 1960s. The main conflict within the Voting Rights Act is whether or not the right to vote was included with the right to representation. Again, the Thernstroms feel that civil rights pessimism – the belief that racism remained pervasive and undiminished- had blinded voting rights advocates to a changed America’

The rewriting of Section 5 within the Voting Rights Act gave blacks power that was not initially intended. The provision placed the burden on the jurisdiction to prove the racial neutrality of its actions beyond a doubt. Districting and other voting-related changes became subject to federal veto if discrimination was suspected. Now there was a creation of unprecedented majority black districts drawn mainly to ensure racial neutrality. The Thernstroms argued that these provisions en

He states that the inherent conflict between maximizing the number of black majority districts is that it packs white Republicans into other districts. Consequently, support for black interests in the House would decline. One more Republican in Congress “would more than negate the pro-black effect of drawing one new African American district”. In addition, African Americans are more likely to gain ideological control then actual physical representation. Blacks are generally inclined to support Democratic legislation and in doing so they garner the support from liberal whites; but the white population does not generally support black candidates (in majority-white districts).

David Lublin discusses the effect of racial redistricting on the election of minority representatives and their influence over public policy. Using empirical data, Lubin concludes that protecting majority black and majority-minority districts remains vital to the election of blacks and Latinos to congress but fails to ensure that legislation supported by the minority population will get conceded.

Lublin uses two cases (Alabama and North Carolina) to illustrate his belief that race conscious re-districting causes blacks to gain ‘descriptive’ representation but lose ‘substantive’ representation. Having an African American in Congress ensures that the interests of the black community is considered. But in the process of ensuring the black seat, a new wave of Republican strength will limit the actual implimentati

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