BLACK POLITICS IN NORTH CAROLINA A CASE STUDY OF THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY ZAPHON R. WILSON DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE ATLANTA, GEORGIA MAY 1990 \~\ ~ \ 1 ABSTRACT POLITICAL SCIENCE WILSON, ZAPHON R. B.A. APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY, 1976 M.A. APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY, 1978 BLACK POLITICS IN NORTH CAROLINA: A CASE STUDY OF THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Adviser: Dr. William H. Boone Dissertation dated May, 1990 An important characteristic of contemporary research on black political participation in the United States has been its emphasis on black electoral behavior. Few studies, however, have examined in detail the impacts of political structure on black electoral behavior or the influences of the Good Government Movement, known as Progressive Reform, in the south on black politics. This study examines black politics in the Second Congressional District in North Carolina. The purpose of the study is to examine how black political activity is influenced by government structure on the local, state and congressional levels. Case studies were conducted of two congressional campaigns in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and one state senate campaign in 1985. Each candidate was interviewed along with representatives from four black political 2 organizations in the study area. These case studies reveal several points regarding black politics in the Second Congressional District and how structure, particularly the Second Primary Run-off, effects black candidates. By the same token, race is still an important concern in elections in the study area. (C) 1990 Zaphon R. Wilson All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Table of Contents . iii LIST OF TABLES . V Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . Statement of the Problem Methodology Review of the Literature Techniques of the Study Definitions of Concepts II. THE GOOD GOVERNMENT MOVEMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE IN NORTH CAROLINA 46 The Development of the Good Government Movement Progressive Reform in the South North Carolina Reform and the Progressive Myth Political Structures in the Study Area Legislative Policy in North Carolina III. THE CASE STUDY OF THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 102 State Legislative Districts Effects of Legislative Policies on Black Representation Comparison of Impacts of State Legislative Policy National Policy Impacts on North Carolina Congressional Campaigns in the Second Congressional District 1. Frank Ballance Case Study 2. H.M. “Mickey” Michaux Case Study 3. Kenneth B. Spaulding Case Study Political Climate of the Second Congressional District iii IV. BLACK POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 193 Historical Development of Black Political Organizations Political Impact of the Organizations Structure of Organizations V. FROM ENFEEBLEMENT TO EMPOWERMENT 226 Summary of Data and Conclusions Future Projections BIBLIOGRAPHY 253 iv LIST OF TABLES 1.1 Counties and Municipalities that Comprise the Study Area 14 1.2 Poverty Status of Families by County 15 1.3 Per Capita Income by County and Race 16 1.4 Median Years of Education Completed by County 18 1.5 High School Graduates by County, Race and Median Levels of Education 19 1.6 Distribution of North Carolina Population Aged 25 Years or Older by Years of School Completed by Race 21 2.1 Forms of Government and Methods of Elections for Cities with 25,000 or More and Between 10,000 to 25,000 in Population 58 2.2 Forms of Government and Methods of Elections for Cities with Populations Between 5,000 and 8,000 59 2.3 Number of Members of Governing Boards 61 2.4 Mode of Election of Governing Boards 63 2.5 Form of Government and Method of Election 65 2.6 Senate Districts 70 2.7 North Carolina House of Representatives 74 2.8 Black Elected Officials in North Carolina 94 3.1 Black Elected Officials in North Carolina 104 3.2 Second Senate District Black Population County Black Voting Age Population 124 3.3 Michaux/Valentine Congressional Race 135 V 3.4 Precinct Breakdown of Michaux/ Valentine Race 143 3.5 Michaux Budget Breakdown 151 3.6 Spaulding/Valentine Congressional Race 159 3.7 Spaulding/Valentine Vote Breakdown 164 3.8 County Precinct Breakdown by Race 174 3.9 Results of 1982 Primary 174 3.10 Results of 1982 Second Primary 175 3.11 Spaulding/Valentine Precinct Breakdown 177 4.1 Executive Chairpersons of DCABP 198 vi CHAPTER I Introduction Perhaps the best way to understand the political position of the American ‘Negro’ today is to compare what some Negroes are asking of Politics in the narrow sense--the competitive struggle for elective office and deliberate attempts to influence the substance of government decisions--and not, in the broadest sense, as any activity by which conflict over goals is carried on. J. Q. Wilson, 1965 An important characteristic of contemporary research on black political participation in the United States has been its emphasis on black electoral behavior. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one cornerstone upon which blacks began to move toward greater participation in the political process. As a result of this Act, writers were either confident that changes in the material condition of American blacks would be forthcoming; or on the other hand, writers were hopeless that changes by legislation would result in any meaningful changes in the condition of blacks.1 Traditionally, studies have focused on the impact of the black electorate on the political process through the instruments of voter registration and voting alone. The focus of this dissertation, however, will be an examination of the impacts that governmental structures have on the practice of politics by blacks. Hanes Walton argues that “there have been numerous case studies of black politics in the North and an equal 2 number of studies of black politics in the South. Each group of studies, however, has been different.”2 An example of this may be seen in work by Matthews and Prothro. In essence, the authors suggest that the scope of their work is concerned with a focus on (Negro] political partici pation and its consequences. How much do southern [Negroes] participate in the politics of 1960’s? In what ways? Why do some [Negroes] participate while others do not? What are the likely consequences of (Negro] political activity for southern politics and race relations?3 As a result of this treatment, black politics has been examined as an area of political research without much regard for the structural arrangements in which political participation is impacted by government policy and the climate of the times. Within this area of research, much of the scholarship has been apologetic and accorrgno dationist. The primary/run-off structure, which is still popular in the south, the impact of at-large elections, or the power of state legislative conunittees to draw district representation lines are never seriously examined. For a clear example of the scholarship in this area, William Keech offers the following observation on the intentions of his research: This research is designed to explore the following questions: What is the impact of the Negro vote on the outputs of a local political system, and what is the relationship between the vote as a manifestation of formal political power and other forms and sources of social and political power? Most importantly, is the vote 3 able to achieve major social and economic gains for a deprived group?4 Political participation and political activity are two separate areas that require clarification. Political participation relates to behaviors recognized by the state as being legitimate. Those legitimate behaviors include voting, political party participation, campaigning and running for public office. The basis for political participation by a given group is the attitude that group has about politics and its place in fostering progressive social, political or economic change. Political participation is also based on individual interests, motives and resources. The dynamics of political participation are, therefore, confined to time, place and operate within the boundaries of the existing political order. The existing political order, the state and its agents control political participation to maintain social equilibrium. The state of balance that exists between the competing factions is legitimized by the state and result in the maintenance of the existing political status quo. Political participation denotes attempts by groups or individuals to participate in politics. Political activity, on the other hand, differs greatly from political participation. Political activity refers to the attempts made by individuals or groups to impact the political system or to totally change that system. These 4 behaviors may or may not be legitimized by the state. Additionally, political activity denotes some effort to organize against the existing order to persuade that order to change its values regarding politics. Political activity takes on a character of behavior unique to time, place and material circumstance. It attempts to cause some change in the political environment by the actors. By using democratic theory as a method f or approaching these questions, Keech examines the organizational structures of black communities in Tuskegee, Alabama and Durham, North Carolina. In effect, Keech, in the same view as other writers, argues that increased political participation may result in fewer “political payoffs than more.”5 Matthews and Prothro also argue that this phenomenon occurs because of the vague fears held by whites of black domination. In the authors’ words, In most political settings, the concentration of an ethnic or occupations group in a geographi cal area provides reinforcement of common values sufficient to produce more active political participation. But southern Negroes are in a peculiarly subordinate position. And the larger the proportion of Negroes in an area, the more intense the vague fears of Negro domination that seem to beset southern whites.