Linda - THE major difference between the North Carolina of 1960 and in 2008 is this: There has been a huge influx of people from the North who have gone there to either look for jobs or have been transferred there by companies they work for in the North who also have operations there, such as IBM and Corning, Inc. Those people brought all sorts of baggage with them: Cultural beliefs, food preferences, etc. They worked in companies where racism was not accepted and many of them continued to work for companies in NC where the companies, by law, were operating the same way. So, what happened in NC and VA did not surprise me a whole lot. By the same token, what happened in SC, AL, and MS did not surprise me either because very few people from the north go there to work because of the culture, the poor educational systems, and so on. So, what you saw there was that the more northern-like and northern-facing two Southern states voted more Democratic than their southern neighbors.
There is definitely a New South/Old South split that goes even farther back than the 1960s. New South consists of those urban areas that developed post civil war (Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, Charlotte), whereas Old South are the areas that were preeminant before and lost that with the War (literal backwaters).
You see it playing out even today. The reason why people from outside of the region went to those areas is because they were more business friendly--the outsiders brought money and jobs. The newcomers are also more open in turn, and so the cycle continues.
I saw this when I lived in Alabama in the 80's. Mobile (old South) was buried in traditions, while Birmingham (new South) was much more progressive and had more opportunities for everybody.
Actually, it seems that the biggest racial/cultural change in the South today is the influx of Hispanics, which both black and white cultures are still adapting to.
Linda Grant is a novelist and journalist. She won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000 and the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage in 2006. She writes for the Guardian, Telegraph and Vogue. Her latest novel, The Clothes on Their Backs was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. For further information including upcoming literary festivals bookstore readings etc see her website at www.lindagrant.co.uk
The People on the Street (Winner of the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage 2006)
Still Here (Fiction 2002)
When I Lived in Modern Times (Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2000)
Remind Me Who I Am Again (Non-fiction 1998)
The Cast Iron Shore (Fiction 1996)
Sexing the Millenium (Non-Fiction 1993)
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Linda - THE major difference between the North Carolina of 1960 and in 2008 is this: There has been a huge influx of people from the North who have gone there to either look for jobs or have been transferred there by companies they work for in the North who also have operations there, such as IBM and Corning, Inc. Those people brought all sorts of baggage with them: Cultural beliefs, food preferences, etc. They worked in companies where racism was not accepted and many of them continued to work for companies in NC where the companies, by law, were operating the same way. So, what happened in NC and VA did not surprise me a whole lot. By the same token, what happened in SC, AL, and MS did not surprise me either because very few people from the north go there to work because of the culture, the poor educational systems, and so on. So, what you saw there was that the more northern-like and northern-facing two Southern states voted more Democratic than their southern neighbors.
There is definitely a New South/Old South split that goes even farther back than the 1960s. New South consists of those urban areas that developed post civil war (Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, Charlotte), whereas Old South are the areas that were preeminant before and lost that with the War (literal backwaters).
You see it playing out even today. The reason why people from outside of the region went to those areas is because they were more business friendly--the outsiders brought money and jobs. The newcomers are also more open in turn, and so the cycle continues.
I saw this when I lived in Alabama in the 80's. Mobile (old South) was buried in traditions, while Birmingham (new South) was much more progressive and had more opportunities for everybody.
Actually, it seems that the biggest racial/cultural change in the South today is the influx of Hispanics, which both black and white cultures are still adapting to.
1960-2008 Aren't we looking at almost five decades not two?
Two different decades
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