1. THE MILITANT SEGREGATIONIST VOTE IN THE POST-BROWN SOUTH: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS.
- Author
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Black, Earl
- Subjects
- *
SEGREGATION , *DISCRIMINATION (Sociology) , *ETHNIC groups , *COMPARATIVE studies , *BLACK people - Abstract
This paper, which focuses substantively on the demography of the militant segregationist vote in the post-Brown years, uses the state as the principal unit of analysis and seeks to test V.O. Key's argument on an explicitly comparative basis. The significance of the topic extends beyond the question of the applicability of Key's general theory of southern racial politics to elections in 11 different states. The paper has attempted to show that a parsimonious theory of the politics of race, Key's black belt hypothesis, is still highly relevant to an understanding of southern politics. Even if attention is restricted to the size of the black population and urban-rural differences, much can be learned concerning the structure of electoral cleavages. Comparative analysis of the core militant segregationist vote within and between the 11 southern states demonstrated that consistent support for selected militant segregationists in the post-Brown era typically increased along a demographic continuum from large metropolitan centers to rural counties with high black populations. The geographic sectionalism of the segregationist vote was clearly established through maps; and most of the deviant segregationist counties were explained by variables related to the black belt hypothesis.
- Published
- 1973