Racist southern politicians use “law and order” as a form of segregation because they do not have the option to be openly racist or they will face backlash from the north and it is no longer acceptable to allow blatant division of people with different skin, so they came up with law and order to make segregation like a form of justice. “Law and order” gives them special advantages because it allows racist police officers to do stop and frisk or beat a person of color. It even allows police officers to wrongly put black people in prison segregating them from white people.

I believe that southern strategies is still affecting politics because some politicians believe that black and white people should be segregated and by appealing to them you can get their support. For example in the excerpt it states “Nixon reportedly remarked with glee that the ad “hits it right on the nose. It’s all about those damn Negro–Puerto Rican groups out there.” This shows by building a wall between the races he was able to get most of the south’s support in his election.

1 i think they chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order” is that it had maybe something to do with the southern strategy and the advantages they get is that it will allow them to get more votes in their states ( republican)

2. i think that southern strategy is in fact still influencing american politics because to this day southern people still vote republican

1. Southern racist politicians had to find a new way of racial order. They understood that whatever the new order would be, it cannot blatantly be towards a specific race, which is Black people. They knew this new racial order Could not include slavery. During this time, Jim Crow laws placed slavery, but that soon died down. They brainstormed ways how to start a new racial caste system, without violating the law which subsequently became law and order. Politicians and law-enforcement started a white opposition to the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s. Anything civil rights activists protest was considered criminal tactics vs. political and the more Civil Rights Movement gained momentum. Southern racist politicians said this is indeed a factor of disobeying the law.
2. I think a Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics today, because it had a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the southern states, and a shift in voting patterns within the Republican Party. There are still people who believe that black people are the problem .

Why do think Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order”? What special advantages was this choice of words going to give them?

The language of “Law & Order” gives southern racist politicians the advantage to use racist remarks as a form of segregation as they will receive negative remarks from the North. In the criminal justice system aspect, this allows them to conduct wrongful acts towards the people of color and as they make arrests it would be towards people of color than white people.

Do you think the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics? Give an example supporting your answer.

I believe the southern strategy still influences American politics today. In a political asepct, we have parties that we vote for and most of the southern strategies are placed in the republican party which shapes that part of society. As an example for the upbring of the republican party “Republican strategist Kevin Phillips is often credited for offering the most influential argument in favor of a race-based strategy for Republican political dominance in the South.”

(answer to question 1) After reading Michele Alexander’s excerpts, I believed the rhetorical of law and order was the new way chose by Southern racist politicians/segregationists to break or slow the uprise of civil rights movements because they could keep their thoughts and ideas of a segregate society without breaking the new norms defined by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But more importantly than that, in my opinion, they chose this approach to gain support among poor white people. By blaming the “black culture” for the poverty, shortage of jobs, crime rate and drug violence, those politicians not only took the responsibility from themselves but reinforced the (wrong) idea that a segregate society would be “beneficial”, and they (the politicians) were willing to “fight” against those who were disturbing this ideal model.

(answer to question 2) When thinking about the Southern Strategy being used today, at least for me, is hard not to related it to the Trump campaign in 2020, the same year when the Black Lives Matter gained an extraordinary support across the country. On the occasion, he called the movement a “symbol of hate”. He also collected many followers because of his infamous slogan campaign “Make America Great Again” and his promises to impose more effective rules against immigration. All these actions, even though were not considered directly racist, led to an increase of hate speeches across the internet and, just like the “black culture” was blamed for poverty and violence during the 60s and 70s, now the immigrants were the new target, being accused of causing a whole in the U.S. economy.

Why do you think Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defence of racial segregation through the language of “law and order”? What unique advantages was this choice of words going to give them?

Southern racist politicians framed their defence of racial segregation through the language of “law and order” to tap into white anxiety, using coded language that appealed to broader audiences. This choice helped divert attention from civil rights issues, maintain the status quo, and gain support from law enforcement, providing a politically palatable way to preserve segregationist policies.

Do you think the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics? Give an example supporting your answer.

Yes, the Southern Strategy continues to influence American politics. An example is the alignment of some political parties with policies that appeal to racially conservative voters in the South, using issues such as immigration and voting rights. This strategy can be observed in shaping political narratives and policy priorities to appeal to voters who may hold racially conservative views, reflecting the historical influence of the Southern Strategy.

I believe the Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of ”law and order” to justify the control they wanted to hold over black people and to make citizens (Southern white people) to be afraid of black and brown people. In the twentieth century, many states in the South were discriminating against black people in every portion of their every day lives. schools, jobs, restrooms, public transportation, restaurants, hospitals, prisons and so on. Richard Nixon and George Wallace made “Law and order a central theme of their campaigns, and collected 57% of the vote”. Nixon says his motive for his campaign ad was to target African Americans and Puerto Rican’s. Some conservative political strategists admitted to using racial fears to get their votes and to persuade people on their side.

I think the Southern Strategy is definitely still influencing the American politics. I think this when it comes to abortion laws, the NYPD and poverty laws. When it comes to abortion laws, 14 states banned abortion for good, regardless of how many weeks you are pregnant for, and many of those states are Republican states. The “Southern Strategy” became a thing because it started in the South from segregation. When it comes to the NYPD, police have targeted many young black american’s for little to no reason, it has been shown on body cam footage and there are cases of young black people getting shot and murdered for racial reasons from the NYPD.

1. Why do think Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order”? What special advantages was this choice of words going to give them?

 Answer: As Weaver notes, “rather than fading, the segregationists’ crime-race argument was reframed, with a slightly different veneer,” and eventually became the foundation of the conservative agenda on crime. This basically proves that the segregationists never planned on starting a new beginning and living in peace with the people of color, but they also knew they could no longer be in the open with their hate anymore after Brown v Board Of Education and the new laws that were passed after the winning of that court case. So they instead made us the target for incarceration, that way they can lock us up, separate us, and punish us for as long as they please due to the fact that we are considered “criminals” in that nature. Criminals don’t exactly get the soft side of society so you’re more than likely as the witness to look the other way than to step up and be vigilant.  

2. Do you think the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics? Give an example supporting your answer.

Answer: Yes, I do, to this very day. In the 90s they did pass the law where it was illegal to racially profile and discriminate against us just because of your race, gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, and etc. They also just passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act in 2018. To this day as a black person you’re more than likely to die in childbirth because of the doctors refuse to administer any medical request to a black female because they don’t care enough to take it serious, mass incarceration on Black men is still on the rise and there are still certain parts of the world where racism very much still exists.

Here’s part 2 of our discussion of Michelle Alexander:

1. Why do think Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order”? What special advantages was this choice of words going to give them?
2. Do you think the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics? Give an example supporting your answer.

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