Why the Vote Wasn't Enough for Selma

In Why the Vote Wasn't Enough for Selma Karlyn Forner rewrites the heralded story of Selma to explain why gaining the right to vote did not bring about economic justice for African Americans in the Alabama Black Belt. Drawing on a rich array of sources, Forner illustrates how voting rights failed to offset decades of systematic disfranchisement and unequal investment in African American communities. Forner contextualizes Selma as a place, not a moment within the civil rights movement -a place where black citizens' fight for full citizenship unfolded alongside an agricultural shift from cotton farming to cattle raising, the implementation of federal divestment policies, and economic globalization. At the end of the twentieth century, Selma's celebrated political legacy looked worlds apart from the dismal economic realities of the region. Forner demonstrates that voting rights are only part of the story in the black freedom struggle and that economic justice is central to achieving full citizenship.

Table of Contents:
Illustrations  vii Abbreviations   ix Acknowledgments  xi Introduction  1 Interlude. The Constitution of 1901  6 1. The World That Cotton Made: 1901–1916  11 Interlude. World War I and Making the World Safe for Democracy  34 2. "Our Country First, Then Selma": 1917–1929  39 Interlude. The Great Depression  61 3. Plowing Under: 1932–1940  67 Interlude. Craig Air Force Base  91 4. Becoming White-Faced Cows: 1941–1952  95 Interlude. "I Like Ike"  120 5. Segregation's Last Stand: 1953–1964  124 Interlude. 1965  150 6. Making the "Good Freedom" 1965–1976  157 Interlude. Closing Craig Air Force Base  187 7. "Last One Out of Selma, Turn Off the Lights": 1977–1988  192 Interlude. Superintendent Norman Roussell and School Leveling  216 8. Two Selmas: 1989–2000  222 Interlude. Joe Gotta Go  244 Epilogue  248 Notes  255 Bibliography  317 Index  335

About the Author :
Karlyn Forner is Project Manager of the SNCC Digital Gateway at Duke University Libraries.

Review :
"Though the general contours of this story are well known, Forner presents an exhaustive social, political, and economic history of Selma set within local and national context. A near page-turner that will appeal to both general and scholarly readers interested in the civil rights movement." - William D. Pederson (Library Journal) "This vision of Alabama history is depressing, even tragic, but it can help to reinvigorate our thinking about racial justice in the future. Forner persuasively demonstrates that the economic plight of many black Americans is the direct result of years of racist policies, global labor changes, and a federal government refusing to protect its citizens. Her book reminds us that anything less than a total and complete commitment from the federal government to end institutionalized racism simply leaves in place some problems of the past and enables new and different forms of dispossession to take root." - Elias Rodriques (The Nation) "Forner argues convincingly that, for many black residents, 'Selma did more for civil rights than civil rights did for Selma.' This lucid, detailed book is often dispiriting to read, but it’s an important reminder of the still-unfulfilled promise of the black freedom movement." (Starred Review) (Publishers Weekly)