The Transformation of Plantation Politics

Sharon D. Wright Austin

Description

The Transformation of Plantation Politics explores the effects of black political exclusion, the sharecropping system, and white resistance on the Mississippi Delta's current economic and political situation. Sharon D. Wright Austin's extensive interviews with residents of the region shed light on the transformations and legacies of the Delta's political and economic institutions. While African Americans now hold most of the major political offices in the region and are no longer formally excluded from political participation, educational opportunities, or lucrative jobs, Wright Austin shows that white wealth and black poverty continue to be the norm partly because of the deeply entrenched legacies of the Delta's history. Contributing to a greater theoretical understanding of black political efforts, this book demonstrates a need for a strong level of black social capital, intergroup capital, financial capital, political capital, and a human capital of educated and skilled workers.
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations

Part One: The Theoretical Framework

1. The Influence of Local Elites in the Mississippi Delta

Part Two: The Plantation Political and Economic Culture

2. The “Cotton-Obsessed, Negro-Obsessed” Delta Plantation Economy

3. Black Mobilization and Elite Resistance during the Height of Traditionalistic Plantation Political Rule

Part Three: The Transformation and Legacies of the Plantation Culture

4. The Transformation of the Delta’s Economy?: Legalized Gaming, Economic Change, and the Persistence of Black Concentrated Poverty

5. The Transformation of Delta Plantation Politics

6. Building Black and Intergroup Social Capital Ties in the Delta

Part Four: Lessons Learned

7. The Challenges of Using Social Capital to Combat Community Ills in the Mississippi Delta

Notes
Appendixes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Ethnic studies
• Region
• Regional
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 16 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791481585
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Transformation of Plantation Politics Black Politics, Concentrated Poverty, and Social Capital in the Mississippi Delta Sharon D. Wright Austin

The Transformation of Plantation Politics

SUNY series in African American Studies

John R. Howard and Robert C. Smith, editors

The Transformation of Plantation Politics

Black Politics, Concentrated Poverty, and Social Capital in the Mississippi Delta

Sharon D. Wright Austin

State University of New York Press

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2006 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Marcella Plantation, Mileston, Mississipi cover photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384

Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Michael Campochiaro

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wright Austin, Sharon D., 1965– The transformation of plantation politics : Black politics, concentrated poverty, and social capital in the Mississippi Delta : Sharon D. Wright Austin. p. cm. — (Suny series in African American studies) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6801-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6801-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Plantation life—Mississippi—Delta (Region) 2. African Americans— Mississippi—Delta (Region)—Politics and government. 3. Poverty—Political aspects—Mississippi—Delta (Region) 4. African Americans—Mississippi—Delta (Region)—Social conditions. 5. Elite (Social sciences)—Mississippi—Delta (Region) 6. Whites—Mississippi—Delta (Region)—Social conditions. 7. Social capital (Sociology)—Mississippi—Delta (Region) 8. Delta (Miss. : Region)— Race relations. 9. Delta (Miss. : Region)—Politics and government. 10. Delta (Miss. : Region)—Social conditions. I. Title. II. Series.

F347.M6A94 2006 307.72089'9607307624—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2005024114

To Mama, Mother Austin, Al Jr., Al Sr., my family, and to my dear friend and mentor, the late Jim Button

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List of Illustrations

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Chapter One

CONTENTS

Part One The Theoretical Framework

The Influence of Local Elites in the Mississippi Delta

Part Two The Plantation Political and Economic Culture Chapter Two The “Cotton-Obsessed, Negro-Obsessed” Delta Plantation Economy

Chapter Three

Black Mobilization and Elite Resistance during the Height of Traditionalistic Plantation Political Rule

Part Three The Transformation and Legacies of the Plantation Culture

Chapter Four

The Transformation of the Delta’s Economy?: Legalized Gaming, Economic Change, and the Persistence of Black Concentrated Poverty

vii

ix

xi

xv

xvii

3

25

41

61

viii

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Notes

Appendixes

Bibliography

Index

Contents

The Transformation of Delta Plantation Politics

Building Black and Intergroup Social Capital Ties in the Delta

Part Four Lessons Learned

Concentrated Poverty, Political Power, and Social Capital in the Mississippi Delta

95

133

169

177

207

217

235

Figures

2.1 3.1

4.1 4.2

6.1

Tables

2.1

3.1

4.1

4.2

4.3 4.4

4.5

ILLUSTRATIONS

Map of the Mississippi Delta

The Status of Mississippi’s Traditionalistic, Transitional, and Modern Political Periods

Casinos in Mississippi’s Towns and Counties

Allocations of Gaming Revenues in Tunica County, Mississippi

Delta Counties in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee

Population Changes in the United States, Mississippi, and Mississippi Delta Counties, 1940–2000

Mississippi Voting-Age Population (VAP) and Voter Registration, by Race, 1868–1964

Poverty Rates in the Counties of the Mississippi Delta, 1970–1990

Socioeconomic Index for Residents of Tunica County, Mississippi, 1960–2000

Educational Levels of Delta Residents, 1970-2000

Households Receiving Public Assistance in Tunica County, Mississippi, 1992–1999

Per Capita-Incomes of Mississippi Delta Residents by Race, 1970–1990

ix

27

43 76

77

142

38

47

63

65 67

79

80