The Impact of Slavery on Racial Inequality in Poverty in the Contemporary U.S. South

Despite Civil Rights legislation, racial inequality persists, especially in the context of poverty. This study advances the literature on racial inequality and the Southern legacy of slavery by examining slavery's relationship with inequality in poverty. I analyze county-level U.S. Census data using regression and spatial data analysis techniques. I find the 1860 slave concentration is related to contemporary black-white inequality in poverty, independent of contemporary demographic and economic conditions, racialized wealth disparities and racial threat. My research suggests the importance of slavery for shaping existing U.S. racial inequality patterns. Insights derived from this research, including the formulation of legacy as a place-based, continuous phenomenon that is distinct from racial threat, provide the basis for future research on legacy's mechanisms.