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? The real reason why Southern racist politicians chose to use the phrase “law and order” was to defend segregation without having to bring up race openly. By selective word choices like “safety” and “stability”, they could attract white voters fears while avoiding negative reactions that came with racist language. Using those specific keywords gave politicians the cover they needed to sound neutral, even though everyone knew who and what was really being targeted.
2.  I do believe the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics, as seen on the news. When a political debate is happening, the focus is on “urban crime,” “protecting our communities,” or “cracking down on gun violence” in ways that sound neutral but are often used to target certain neighborhoods without saying it directly. That kind of coded language shows how the Southern Strategy still shapes political messaging.

After the Civil Rights Movement, laws could no longer openly use race as a basis for discrimination. Because of this, some southern politicians began using language such as “law and order” to appeal to voters while avoiding direct references to race. This strategy allowed them to justify policies that disproportionately impacted people of color under the argument of fighting crime and maintaining public safety. In this way, they were able to gain political support from individuals who held racist views without explicitly breaking the law or using openly racist language.

I think that modern policies like the idea of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border can be seen as influenced by this type of political strategy. Even though it is framed in terms of immigration control and national security, it can also be connected to broader political messaging that appeals to fears about immigrants and crime. In that sense, it reflects how political language can be used to shape public opinion in ways that may still have racial implications, even if race is not directly mentioned.

1. Because after the Cicil Rights Movement, the law cannot mention race. Therefore, southern racist politicians use the language of “law and order” to mask their true intentions, that is, to target people of color under the guise of fighting crime. This allows them to gain the support of racists and a political advantage without breaking the law. 
2. I think building the Mexico Border Wall can be considered as one of the influences from the Southern Strategy to the American politics 

1. Southern politicians used the phrase “law and order” because it allowed them to oppose civil rights reforms without openly sounding racist. During the Civil Rights Movement, openly defending segregation was becoming less acceptable, so politicians needed a different way to appeal to voters who wanted to keep the existing racial hierarchy. By focusing on crime, public safety, and maintaining order, they could attract support from White voters while avoiding direct discussions about race. This made their message seem more reasonable and helped them gain political support without openly promoting segregation.

2. Yes, I think the Southern Strategy still has some influence on American politics today. Even though politicians are less likely to use openly racist language, some still use messages that can indirectly appeal to racial fears or divisions. Discussions about crime in certain neighborhoods or debates over immigration are sometimes framed in ways that create fear and attract specific groups of voters. While these issues are real political concerns, the way they are sometimes presented can resemble the Southern Strategy because race is implied rather than directly mentioned. This shows that some of the political tactics from that era still exist in modern campaigns.

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2010.

Ameerah Jameer

1. Racist politicians in the South chose to justify their policy of segregation using the language of “law and order” because, with the passage of civil rights laws, they no longer had a legal justification for using explicit racism or opting for segregation. That is why they were forced to seek neutral language that did not single out a specific race.
   By using the language of “law and order,” they gained several advantages:
   – It allowed them to classify Civil Rights Movement protests as criminal and destructive acts. They also claimed that Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy was one of the causes of rising crime.
   – They gained support from the white working class, who felt vulnerable to economic and social competition from African Americans; through the “law and order” rhetoric, they channeled their frustration toward the Black population.
   – By masking racism under the pretext of fighting crime, they succeeded in getting the majority of voters to prioritize race over their own class situation.
   
2. Yes, I believe that the Southern Strategy continues to influence U.S. politics; a clear example is the debate on immigration. When certain political speeches address issues like insecurity, rising crime, and drug trafficking in the country, they pin the blame on immigrants as the main culprits. They do not attack them directly because of their race, ethnicity, or nationality, but rather on the grounds that they are criminals for breaking the law by crossing the border. Furthermore, just as in the 1960s, they blame immigrants for the main causes of job shortages, low wages, or the collapse of public services.

1. Southern racist politicians chose the language of “law and order” because it allowed them to pursue racial control without explicitly mentioning race. After the civil rights movement made openly racist rhetoric socially and legally unacceptable, they needed a new way to appeal to white fears while maintaining plausible deniability. “Law and order” gave them exactly that. The advantages of this framing were significant. First, it sounded neutral and race blind. Anyone who challenged it could be dismissed as being “pro crime” rather than being recognized as opposing racial discrimination. Second, it shifted the conversation away from systemic racism and toward individual criminal behavior, making it easier to justify targeting Black communities and the Civil rights movement under the guise of public safety. Third, it had broad appeal beyond the South, allowing politicians to attract white voters nationwide who may not have openly supported segregation but responded to fears about crime and disorder.

In short, “law and order” was a coded language, what scholars call a dog whistle, that communicated racial anxiety to a specific audience while appearing legitimate and race-neutral to everyone else. It was a way to continue suppressing Black communities through the legal system rather than through openly discriminatory laws, making it much harder to challenge or expose.

2. Yes, the Southern Strategy is absolutely still influencing American politics today. Nixon’s approach was built on using coded language to appeal to white racial anxiety without ever explicitly mentioning race. That same playbook is clearly visible in how politicians today talk about DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). Politicians opposing DEI do not say they want to keep Black Americans out of universities or corporate positions. Instead they use terms like “merit based hiring” and “ending reverse discrimination.” Additionally, Donald Trump’s MAGA movement is another example of the Southern Strategy in full effect. Slogans like “take our country back” and “Make America Great Again” speak directly to white racial anxiety by invoking a past where white Americans held unchallenged social and political dominance, without ever explicitly mentioning race. The Southern Strategy never went away. Politicians just keep finding new coded words to replace the old ones.

1. Southern segregationists framed their defense of racial segregation in the language of “law and order” because it allowed them to resist civil rights without openly defending racism. After Brown v. Board of Education, Southern leaders needed a race-neutral vocabulary that would still appeal to white fears and preserve the racial hierarchy. Alexander explains that in the late 1950s and 1960s, officials “characterized [civil rights] tactics as criminal and argued that the rise of the Civil Rights Movement was indicative of a breakdown of law and order” (Alexander 41). By calling civil rights activists “lawbreakers,” they could portray themselves as defenders of public safety rather than defenders of segregation. This strategy also allowed them to mobilize white voters who were angry about integration while avoiding explicit racist language that was becoming less socially acceptable. As Alexander writes, segregationists eventually adopted “the racially sanitized rhetoric of ‘cracking down on crime’” to continue promoting racial control (Alexander 43). The phrase “law and order” gave them political cover and broad public appeal.
2. I believe that yes, the Southern Strategy continues to influence American politics today. Alexander shows that the strategy relied on coded racial language to appeal to white voters without explicitly mentioning race. She explains that Republican strategists intentionally used “coded anti-Black rhetoric” to win over white voters who were angry about civil rights reforms (Alexander 44). This pattern persists in modern politics, especially during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests following the dead of George Floyd. Activists and protesters were often portrayed as dangerous, violent, or criminal. For example, during protests against police brutality, media coverage frequently highlighted “riots” rather than police violence. These tactics echo the 1960s tactic of framing civil rights activism as a threat to public safety. Alexander notes that conservatives historically “subsumed” civil rights protests, urban uprisings, and crime “under the heading of ‘crime in the streets’” (Alexander 43). These same strategies are used today to delegitimize movements like Black Lives Matter while justifying aggressive policing. The Southern Strategy’s racial coding remains a powerful political tool.

Michelle Alexander, “The New Jim Crow” (The New Press), p. 40-57.

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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