November 1, 2022
Participatory Mechanisms for National Minorities
It is this writer’s intention to begin a discussion on participatory mechanisms for Black Americans America’s chief national minority. The rights of minorities to participate in public life are enshrined in significant documents such as the CSCE Copenhagen Document, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The various arrangements are left up to the individual states as to what shape participation might look like. I suggest we begin this conversation with relevant international legislation, concepts such as participation, national minority, political representation, and practical ways to participate in the public life of national minorities. The audience that I envision are scholars, policy-makers, stakeholders within the Black American group, and practitioners in the field of national minorities. This is also a healthy conversation for law and political science students looking for a starting point in their careers. This discussion can be the genesis for the formation of an institution and publication dedicated to this critical subject.
Robert L Hollis, MA
Historian
H-Net African American
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