Rethinking America’s racial policy alliances: beyond 'repair' and 'protect'

In America’s New Racial Battle Lines, King and Smith offer a compelling framework for understanding contemporary American politics through two polarized racial policy alliances – “repair” and “protect.” Building on their foundational insights, I explore how these concepts can be expanded to better capture the complexity of the coalitions, messages, and policy goals they describe. I propose three complementary frameworks to deepen our understanding of the strategic dilemmas facing America’s racial policy alliances during Trump’s second term: (1) the selection and framing of historical narratives in policy and messaging; (2) the balance between offensive and defensive strategies; and (3) the tension between systemic overthrow and preservation. These frameworks extend King and Smith’s arguments about the dynamics of racial policy in modern America.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 48(13), pp. 2586–2594