Even at the Turning of the Tide

Abstract

The increase in the number of African Americans in elective and appointed offices is often cited as lasting evidence of the success of the 1960s civil rights movement. However, two generations after the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the question of whether electoral power transfers into substantive change for the powerless reverberates. Some may find it sacrilegious to question the utility of the franchise in light of the past sacrifices to gain unfettered access to the ballot. Nevertheless, not to raise this critical question at this juncture commits a disservice to past African American martyrs. Thus, this analysis seeks to critically examine African American legislative participation in the North Carolina general assembly. The following analysis builds on prior research that examined the activities of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus (NCLBC) from 1970 to 1985 (Sullivan, 1988). Between 1985 and 1988, several major developments occurred within the North Carolina legislature that warrant further inquiry. First, the number of African Americans serving in the state legislature increased significantly. Second, the state has struggled through several years of divided government. Further exacerbating this division in government has been the Republican Party control of the House of Representatives. The following examines the NCLBC in light of these developments. The analysis proceeds with a discussion of African American legislative participation prior to the post-civil rights period. A pro-