The Persistence of Historical Racial Violence and Political Suppression: Implications for Contemporary Regional Inequality

We provide evidence on the link between lynchings and a range of political and economic outcomes for Black Americans. We show that lynchings are related to racial and political motives among whites that keep Black Americans disconnected from the political process. This political and racial gradient...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2021-03, Vol.694 (1), p.92-107
Main Authors: Williams, Jhacova A., Logan, Trevon D., Hardy, Bradley L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Economic inequality
Economic well being
Economic wellbeing
Economics
Human capital
Inequality
Investments
Labor market
Lynchings
Oppression
Political finance
Political participation
Politics
Poverty
Public finance
Racial violence
Redemption
Redistribution
Social capital
Violence
Well being
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We provide evidence on the link between lynchings and a range of political and economic outcomes for Black Americans. We show that lynchings are related to racial and political motives among whites that keep Black Americans disconnected from the political process. This political and racial gradient to lynchings is related to public finance and redistribution within states and localities and has potentially long-lasting implications for investments in financial and human capital for Black Americans. We also document regional inequality in economic well-being and the social safety net, linking the legacy of racialized violence and diminished political capital to persistently higher poverty and lowered investments in social and labor market policies, showing that a key goal of Southern Redemption policies and violence continues to play a role in Black American life in the twenty-first century.
ISSN:0002-7162
1552-3349
DOI:10.1177/00027162211016298