Making democracy work for you: Examining change, effectiveness, and choice in minorities' engagement of unconventional political behavior

The dissertation links citizens' unconventional political behavior (protest, boycotts, strikes, marches, etc.) that revolves around concerns in the Black, Latino, and Asian-American communities to political outcomes that stem from the three branches of government---congressional, judicial, and presidential responsiveness---over the course of nearly forty years, 1955-1992. The dissertation is presented in a three-part project. The first section of the dissertation lays the groundwork by providing a historical analysis of how and why racial and ethnic minorities have changed the way they influence government through unconventional political behavior. Second, the study compares the effectiveness of unconventional political action on governmental responsiveness to racial and ethnic issues over time, examining the responsiveness of congressional leaders, presidents, and Supreme Court justices. Knowing how minority citizens' engagement in political behavior has changed and its effectiveness on government, leads us to advance our understanding of political choice beyond simply voting and non-voting. Thus, the third section of the dissertation presents a theory of participation choice that attempts to explain how minorities select among various forms of political action. This encompassing dissertation, which includes original and secondary data, reveals that unconventional political behavior in and of itself can garner symbolic governmental responsiveness in the form of attention to minority concerns. However, political protest must mobilize overall public opinion in order to elicit substantive governmental action on racial and ethnic issues. The dissertation is one of the few works that investigate the consequences of citizens' unconventional political actions through a multiracial perspective for Blacks, Latinos, and Asian-Americans. Moreover, it uniquely intersects the literature on public opinion, political behavior, and political institutions as well as incorporating theories in sociology to produce a truly interdisciplinary project.