E Pluribus Unum: Protecting Voting Rights Amid the Great Replacement

By: Rafay Siddiqui, MPAC Policy Fellow

Earlier this month, the College Board unveiled the Advanced Placement curriculum for their pilot African American Studies course – placing greater emphasis on the African American experience from an interdisciplinary lens. 

Alarmingly, many far-right extremists do not view this development in a positive light. Under the purview of racist rhetoric, many Great Replacement Theory sympathizers criticized the program as anti-American and containing anti-capitalist rhetoric.

In short, the Great Replacement Theory is a widely debunked conspiracy positing that immigration (especially from the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa) is a globalist scheme to replace white indigenous populations and their traditions. In our published policy brief The Great Enrichment Counter Narrative, Senior Fellow Amine Naceur emphasizes that the Replacement Theory is premised on framing immigration as an invasion of uncivilized groups.

The implications of the Great Replacement Theory are both boundless and dangerous for people of color. The rise in voting discrimination in conjunction with support for the Great Replacement Theory is an especially alarming trend for the American Muslim community, many of whom are immigrants or first-generation Americans. Comprising nearly a fifth of the American Muslim community, African-Americans are faced with especially undue political burdens in the ballot box and as victims of violent hate crimes. These trends can discourage our community to engage with the political system, believing that our contributions will amount to nothing as discrimination continues to take center stage. 

To read our full article on the Great Replacement Theory, click here.