Diversity ‘Dine’alogue with Christina Greer: "Race and Policy in the Current Political Climate"

Race and Policy in the Current Political Climate with Professor Christina Greer

“I feel like my PhD in Political Science is a computer science degree from the 1960s”, noted Christina Greer, Professor of International and Public Affairs, at SIPA’s second Diversity ‘Dine’alogue on April 18, 2018 “because all the theories that we once had are a little shaky right now”, referring to a time “when we used to have rule and respect for law” [as it regards the U.S. Presidency].

As much as contemporary politics might seem like unchartered territory, Dr. Greer, whose latest work on “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”, formidably cuts through much of the political dissonance. Throughout the dialogue, Greer acknowledged the troubled American democracy, referring to the triumvirate of acts passed under President Johnson–the Civil Rights, Voting Rights, and Immigration and Nationality Acts–which she says are now under attack.

When discussing the executive directive to include questions on citizenship and specific country of origin on the 2020 census for the first time in years, Dr. Greer said she is “literally losing sleep”, as it would likely result in a significant undercount disproportionately impacting immigrants and people of color. This would mean “lopsided benefits to those who prove they’re the ‘right kind of American’, as results of the census will be used to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives, delineate legislative districts, and allocate approximately $800 billion a year in federal funds. Dr. Greer added, “this affects me as a scholar, as my hypotheses, my data outputs, what I’m writing about and publishing in journals that policy makers and young academics will read, will be based on incorrect information”.

She also discussed the imperative of safeguarding voting rights, which she underscored as being “one of the most sacred elements of being a citizen”, as voting “allows people to be architects of their democracy”, and which is why she noted, black people and women were denied this right for so long.

Professor of Practice and former Philadelphia Mayor, Michael A. Nutter, who provided introductions, concluded the event by suggesting Greer have her own show. Let’s make that happen.

- Laura McCreedy, EMPA '20