Hadley Hitson, Montgomery Advertiser
Tue, December 21, 2021
John Lewis, center, of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,
during Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, Selma, Ala.
Alabama carries a deep history of racial violence and division, especially in Selma and other places that were central to the Civil Rights Movement.
More than 56 years ago, John Lewis and hundreds of peaceful protesters marched for Black voting rights only to be met with brutal police attacks on the other side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Today, Selma and surrounding areas still face problems of racial division, only in much different ways.
The Black Belt Community Foundation and the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation have partnered on a project to provide “racial healing” in these areas. They recently published a study examining the divisions and commonalities of public opinion among racial groups in Dallas County and surrounding areas.
The lead researchers, who represent the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, were Sekou Franklin, Camille Burge and Princess Williams.
They surveyed 300 people in Dallas County and 200 people in surrounding counties that include Lowndes, Perry, Greene, Choctaw, Macon, Sumter, Wilcox, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Crenshaw, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Pike and Russell.
Here are the topics that racial groups were most divided on and those where they found common ground.
Alabama carries a deep history of racial violence and division, especially in Selma and other places that were central to the Civil Rights Movement.
More than 56 years ago, John Lewis and hundreds of peaceful protesters marched for Black voting rights only to be met with brutal police attacks on the other side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Today, Selma and surrounding areas still face problems of racial division, only in much different ways.
The Black Belt Community Foundation and the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation have partnered on a project to provide “racial healing” in these areas. They recently published a study examining the divisions and commonalities of public opinion among racial groups in Dallas County and surrounding areas.
The lead researchers, who represent the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, were Sekou Franklin, Camille Burge and Princess Williams.
They surveyed 300 people in Dallas County and 200 people in surrounding counties that include Lowndes, Perry, Greene, Choctaw, Macon, Sumter, Wilcox, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Crenshaw, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Pike and Russell.
Here are the topics that racial groups were most divided on and those where they found common ground.
Division: Causes of violence in the community
Dallas County’s crime rate is higher than the U.S. average, and this year, Selma has seen more homicides than it did in 2020 or 2019.
When it comes to the root cause of violence in Dallas County, Black respondents tended to point to systemic factors like poverty (41.4%) and a lack of community resources (13.5%), while white respondents were more likely to identify individual elements like laziness (43.4%), no family support (10.8%), and hopelessness (12%).
When asked whether the city or county should focus resources on crime prevention or on punishing crime, there was also a gap in opinion, based on race. 46% of Black respondents and 41% of white respondents said prevention.
“Blacks were more supportive of prevention strategies. But there was enough support among whites to build commonality around preventative strategies,” head researcher Franklin said.
Commonality: Distrust of local government
A feeling of distrust in local government and political leaders abounded in a majority of respondents, regardless of race.
Among respondents, 65% of both Black and white residents “believe they cannot trust government officials to do what is right,” and over 80% of both groups agree or somewhat agree that “political leaders neglect the interests of people who live in rural areas.”
A majority of people also say that they don’t feel like they have a voice in local government.
Franklin said this point of commonality shows an opportunity for people to come together in support of “good government” reforms, or efforts to increase inclusion and public engagement with local government.
Division: Race relations and the Black Lives Matter movement
Race relations are an especially polarizing topic, with Black people being much more likely to believe that they are treated worse in any given area than white people.
“Blacks and whites have fundamentally different perceptions about the treatment of Blacks and validity of racism. There are even minor, though noticeable differences, in how the racial groups view the treatment of Blacks when they are shopping and voting,” the study reads.
There was also contrast in each cohort’s feelings toward Black Lives Matter: 87% of Black respondents said they support the movement, compared to 40% of white respondents. In Selma and Dallas County, specifically, just 26% of white respondents said they support BLM.
Commonality: Racially segregated schools
Across all counties and races, most people surveyed said schools in their areas are segregated today.
55% of white respondents and 59% of Black respondents said they strongly or somewhat agree with the statement "Schools in my area are racially segregated."
The study does not include an explanation of how or why, but the Black Belt Community Foundation and the Selma Center recognize segregation as a persisting problem they aim to resolve.
Division: COVID’s impact
Rural Alabama, particularly the Black Belt, was hit hard with COVID-19. By the end of June 2020, a quarter of all COVID-related deaths had been Black Belt residents, though the area only housed about 11% of the state’s population at the time.
The survey asked respondents why they think COVID has disproportionately impacted Black people, and there were disparities in why they believe that's the case.
A majority of Black respondents said the major reasons were due to their work in high-risk industries, lack of health care, or it was “beyond their control.” Among white respondents, 31% or fewer agreed that these were major reasons why Black people experienced higher COVID infection rates.
Commonality: Living wages
Franklin said one of the most shocking findings from the study was a vast support across racial groups for increasing city and county employees wages to meet a living wage.
When asked how much they "would support or oppose a city or county policy that required the city to pay a living wage to all city employees," a majority of both groups said they either strongly supported or somewhat supported it.
A living wage is the theoretical income level it would take an individual or family to pay for necessities. This number varies by state and family size, but the estimated living wage for a single adult in Alabama ranges from $11 to $13.77 an hour.
“Although African-Americans definitely supported living wages and those kinds of things much more than whites, even among whites, there's considerable support there to possibly build bridges between the groups,” Franklin said.
Ultimately, he said doesn't think most people have an accurate perception of rural Alabama, and this study is one step toward changing that.
About the study
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The expressed goal of the Black Belt Community Foundation and the Selma Center in publishing this study was to address the deficit research on Southern, rural communities and challenge assumptions about race. The initiative is sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The central component of the study, named the Dallas County Area Study, is a 500-person telephone and online survey administered by New South Research in December 2020.
New South Research conducted a random sample of Blacks and Whites in the requested counties, including an oversample of Blacks. Each participant was offered a $5 amazon e-gift card to complete the survey. The completed survey is comprised 156 Whites, 341 Blacks, and 3 individuals of mixed race. The survey contained 299 women and 201 men.
Input sessions and meetings generated a 43-question survey that was co-produced by academicians and community advocates. The survey and input sessions were approved by Middle Tennessee State University’s Institutional Review Board.
The study measures racial differences using bivariate cross-tabulations. It highlights the results that are statistically significant, and statistical significance indicates that a finding is not due to chance.
The expressed goal of the Black Belt Community Foundation and the Selma Center in publishing this study was to address the deficit research on Southern, rural communities and challenge assumptions about race. The initiative is sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The central component of the study, named the Dallas County Area Study, is a 500-person telephone and online survey administered by New South Research in December 2020.
New South Research conducted a random sample of Blacks and Whites in the requested counties, including an oversample of Blacks. Each participant was offered a $5 amazon e-gift card to complete the survey. The completed survey is comprised 156 Whites, 341 Blacks, and 3 individuals of mixed race. The survey contained 299 women and 201 men.
Input sessions and meetings generated a 43-question survey that was co-produced by academicians and community advocates. The survey and input sessions were approved by Middle Tennessee State University’s Institutional Review Board.
The study measures racial differences using bivariate cross-tabulations. It highlights the results that are statistically significant, and statistical significance indicates that a finding is not due to chance.
Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Study finds racial division in how rural Alabamians think about issues
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Study finds racial division in how rural Alabamians think about issues
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