Origins, Dynamics, and Consequences of Community Conflict

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1323149 Kenneth Andrews University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill This study examines the dynamics and consequences of local campaigns to desegregate public accommodations in the U.S. South from 1960 to 1964. Many Southern cities experienced substantial desegregation of lunch counters, hotels, theaters and other establishments prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but many others did not. Why do some social movements succeed while others fail to bring about community changes? This enduring puzzle has gained considerable attention in recent years. Some scholars argue that the characteristics of organizations, leaders, and resources and the strategies, tactics, and claims that movements use determine its impact. Others scholars focus on characteristics of the broader community and argue factors such as powerful allies and weak opposition facilitate movement success. Meanwhile economic opportunity structure theorists argue that movement impact depends on whether the costs of protest to businesses outweigh the costs of conceding. The investigator extends these frameworks by documenting interactions and sequences within campaigns and the temporal and spatial patterns of impact. The project will: (1) build a dataset documenting the desegregation campaigns in approximately 70 Southern cities between 1960 and 1964; and (2) use the dataset to test and extend prevailing theories of social movement impact. The research builds on a broader project and prior NSF support (SES-1060262). The investigator built a dataset on 334 Southern cities to identify where sustained desegregation campaigns occurred and to explain the diffusion of protest, the growth of movement organizations, and lunch counter desegregation campaigns. The NSF Sociology Program is supporting the first half of this project to code thirty-five cities with desegregation campaigns. This proposal will complete the larger project by coding thirty-five additional cities. This additional work will (1) develop a comprehensive database on all cities that were hubs of civil rights activity; and (2) obtain data for conducting rigorous tests of competing theories of movement consequences. By coding secondary historical accounts, the PI is creating systematic and comparable profiles of campaigns that include measures of protest, movement organizations and claims, interactions with political authorities and economic actors, and desegregation outcomes. Broader Impacts The research findings have the potential to deepen public understanding of the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was a key turning point in US history, but popular understanding hinges on a small number of campaigns. This study provides a comprehensive database and analysis of these campaigns. To advance this goal, the project will generate a website to disseminate profiles of desegregation campaigns useful for schools, libraries, museums, and the public. In addition, the project will facilitate training and mentorship of graduate students in historical methods and quantitative data analysis .