Racial Politics in the Contemporary South: Toward a More Critical Understanding

While explanations of contemporary racial disparity in political participation and representation emphasize stratification differences between dominant and subordinate group members and mobilization-countermobilization patterns, they tend to neglect the often interrelated nature of race and class based processes. Drawing from socio-historical accounts of racial disadvantage in the U.S. South that deal explicitly with the interrelation of race and political economy, we pose a model of racial politics and competition that acknowledges the potential for elite influence. We then test the model making use of North Carolina county data from the 1980s. Results suggest that a large black population coupled with a concentrated and homogenous elite, traditionally dependent upon racial exploitation and division, increases the white-black voter registration gap and racially polarized voting among whites. These processes are mediated, at least partially, by both local political access and local levels of stratification. Findings support a dynamic class-theoretical interpretation of racial inequality and division as well as extended racial competition and stratification frameworks. On an even more general level, the theoretical argument posed and empirical evidence presented suggest that socio-historical and class-theoretical considerations be accorded more weight in analyses of contemporary racial inequality and competition processes.