Black Belt (region of Alabama)
32°36′41.82″N 87°34′39.05″W / 32.6116167°N 87.5775139°W
The Black Belt is a region of the
The physical geography of the "Black Belt," as related to the history of this cotton-dependent region, refers to a much larger region of the Southern United States, stretching from Delaware to Texas but centered on the Black Belt of uplands areas of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
In the Antebellum and Jim Crow eras, the white elite of the Black Belt dominated Alabama state politics well into the 1960s, a trend that has continued to the current day. As in other Southern states, the white-dominated state legislature of Alabama passed laws and a constitution that created barriers to voter registration, essentially disenfranchising most blacks and many poor whites.
In addition, the state legislature did not
Since the black population gained the renewed ability to exercise the franchise under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they have largely supported Democratic Party candidates. This is in contrast to the majority-white areas of the state, where since the late 20th century, conservatives have largely shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party.
The Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area was established in the National Heritage Area Act in 2022,[2] signed into law by President Joe Biden on January 6, 2023.[3] The National Heritage Area will help preserve historic sites of Black history the Civil Rights movement and promote tourism across 19 counties.[4][5]
Geology
The region is underlain by a thin layer of rich, black soil developed atop the
History
Lacking a reliable source of water, the earliest settlers avoided farming the black soil in the belt until the discovery that deep
The white planters and their elected representatives of the Black Belt established political power in the state legislature in the cotton era; the white rural elite retained their dominance long after the state began to develop more urbanized areas and an industrial economy. The state legislature did not redistrict to reflect population changes and the rise of urban areas from 1901 to 1972, when it was ordered by a federal court, following important apportionment cases such as Baker v. Carr (1964). Birmingham, the largest and most industrialized city in the state, was among those whose residents, both black and white, had been underrepresented for decades in the state legislature.
The Black Belt's largest city,
Many descendants of freed slaves continued to work as
Some of the most important events of the
Today, Alabama's rural Black Belt includes some of the poorest counties in the United States. Along with high rates of poverty, the area is typified by declining populations, a primarily agricultural landscape with low-density settlement, high unemployment, poor access to education and medical care, substandard housing and high rates of crime.
Counties
The list of counties comprising the Black Belt is often dependent on the context but historically includes 18 counties:
Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe, and Washington counties are sometimes included in the region, but are usually considered part of Alabama's southern coastal plain. Lamar does not meet the soil traits but is often included due to its rural character.
Demographics
As of the
The racial makeup of the Black Belt region was 52.24%
The median income for a household in the Black Belt region was $27,130, and the median income for a family was $35,698. Males had a median income of $32,226 versus $22,021 for females. The per capita income for the region was $15,633.
A July 1, 2007
Politics
In electoral maps of the 20th and early 21st centuries, the Black Belt has appeared as a "Blue Belt" because of the voters' strong support for the Democratic Party. With the exception of parts of the city of Birmingham, the outline of Alabama's 7th congressional district roughly matches the western Black Belt region. Terri Sewell (D) currently represents that district in the United States House of Representatives.
See also
References
- ^ Harress, Christopher (26 August 2017). "What is the Black Belt and why is it called that?". AL.com.
- ^ "National Heritage Area Act". Congress.gov. December 22, 2022.
- ^ Archibald, Ramsey (2023-01-08). "Biden names Alabama Black Belt a National Heritage Area, opening up funding opportunities". AL.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "Rep. Sewell's Legislation to Create the Black Belt National Heritage Area Passes the House of Representatives". Congresswoman Terri Sewell. 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
- ^ Davis, Erin. "House passes legislation to create Black Belt National Heritage Area". WSFA. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties of Alabama: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007". 2007 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2008-03-27. Archived from the original (CSV) on August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- Tullos, Allen. "The Black Belt" Southern Spaces, (April 19, 2004)
- Rogers, William Warren, and Robert David Ward, Leah Rawls Atkins, and Wayne Flynt. Alabama: The History of a Deep South State. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8173-0714-1
- Phillips, Doug (2004) "Alabama Black Belt", Discovering Alabama Teacher's Guide.
External links
- Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area
- "Black Belt Fact Book", University of Alabama Institute for Rural Health Research
- "Alabama's Black Belt", Birmingham News special report
- Black Belt Community Foundation
- Black Belt Museum affiliated with the University of West Alabama