The Dynamics of Racial Progress : Economic Inequality and Race Relations Since Reconstruction PDF
Preview The Dynamics of Racial Progress : Economic Inequality and Race Relations Since Reconstruction
THE DYNAMICS OF RACIAL PROGRESS This page intentionally left blank THE DYNAMICS OF RACIAL PROGRESS ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND RACE RELATIONS SINCE RECONSTRUCTION ANTOINE L. JOSEPH Q Routledge Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2005 by M.E. Sharpe Published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2005, Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notices No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use of operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Joseph, Antoine L., 1951— The dynamics of racial progress : economic inequality and race relations since Reconstruction / Antoine L. Joseph, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7656-1271-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. United States—Race relations. 2. United States—Race relations—Economic aspects. 3. United States—History—1865- 4. United States—Economic conditions. I. Title. E184.A1J66 2005 323.173' 09 "04—dc22 2004027363 ISBN 13: 9780765612717 (hbk) Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction ix 1. The Resurgence of Racial Conflict 3 2. Racial Politics and Stable Majorities 27 3. The Decline of Racial Democratization 69 4. Resurgent Democratization and the End of White Supremacy 94 5. The Changing Dynamics of Class and Labor 137 6. Inequality and Popular Sovereignty 161 7. Rising Economic Inequality, Racial Polarization, and the Prospects for the Future 180 Notes 195 Bibliography 211 Index 225 About the Author 331 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I wish to thank Zachary Schiffman, Michael Hobart, and the members of the 1994 NEH seminar Cultural Pluralism and the Nation-State directed by M. Crawford Young for reading and commenting on early portions of the manuscript. Jack Bloom also generously read and commented extensively on an early version of the manuscript. My greatest debt is to three individu als who were essential in the development of the manuscript. First, the late C. Eric Lincoln sparked my interest in writing a book on American race relations. Second, my colleague Judy McDonnell painstakingly read and commented on several versions of the manuscript in its entirety. She was especially helpful in recommending revisions essential to the final version of the manuscript. Finally, my friend and mentor William Julius Wilson, who happens to be the leading race relations analyst and scholar of the last half century, took the time to read and discuss several versions of the manuscript, going far beyond what would ordinarily be expected of a former graduate advisor. I would also like to thank Andrew Gyory, PhD, and Niels Aaboe, the former and current senior social science editors respectively at M.E. Sharpe; Esther Clarke, M.E. Sharpe editorial assistant; and the anonymous reviewers for M.E. Sharpe. Most importantly, I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of my late mother, Lorraine F. Joseph, who was herself a writer and teacher. Her encouragement and support were essential in my becoming a writer and teacher as well. This page intentionally left blank Introduction A recent national election was marred by political violence and efforts to disfranchise opposition supporters through intimidation, changes in election laws, and shifts in the distribution of polling places. Western observers had no trouble recognizing the deficiencies of the election held in Zimbabwe on March 13, 2002.1 This election has been roundly and rightfully condemned by international observers as fraudulent. But consider that on November 7, 2000, more than 100 million Americans went to the polls to cast their votes. Most notably in Florida, but in other states as well, serious questions have emerged concerning whether some Americans—especially black and brown Americans—were able to vote without intimidation. Is it possible that in 2000, thousands of Americans might have been pre vented from exercising their right to vote? Ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court, slightly more than a month after the election, cast the decisive vote, ruling 5 to 4 that recounts of the Florida vote were violations of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause, thereby awarding victory to George W. Bush, the Republican candidate. Yet the Supreme Court’s declaration only increased the speculation—did George W. Bush really win the vote among the electorate, or did he merely win the vote in the Court? As legal scholar Ronald Dworkin points out, “it is therefore difficult to find a respectable explanation of why all and only the conservatives voted to end the election in this way, and the troubling question is being asked among scholars and com mentators whether the Court’s decision would have been different if it was Bush, not Gore, who needed the recount to win—whether, that is, the deci sion reflected not ideological division, which is inevitable, but professional self-interest.”2 Certainly the differences between the American presidential election of 2000 and the Zimbabwean of 2002 outweigh the similarities. But the will ingness of the winners to use means that many find to be questionable is similar. The commitment to win at almost any cost is clear in each case. ix
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