| Summary: | <p><b>Chapter 1</b></p>
<p><em>The Voice of Radio in the Battle for Equal Rights: Evidence from the U.S. South</em></p>
<p>Although the 1960s race riots have gone down in history as America’s most violent
and destructive ethnic civil disturbances, a single common factor able to explain
their insurgence is yet to be found. Using a novel dataset on the universe of
radio stations airing Black-appeal programming, the effect of media on riots is
found to be sizable and statistically significant. A marginal (1%) increase in the
signal reception from these stations is estimated to lead to a 7% and 15% rise
in the mean levels of the likelihood and intensity of riots, respectively. Several
mechanisms behind this result are considered, with the quantity, quality, and the
length of exposure to radio programming all being decisive factors.</p>
<p><b>Chapter 2</b></p>
<p><em>Race, Representation, and Local Governments in the U.S. South: The Effect of
the Voting Rights Act</em></p>
<p>The Voting Rights Act of 1965 redefined race relations in the U.S. South. Yet,
evidence on its effect on African American office-holding remains scant. Using
novel data on African American elected officials between 1962 and 1980, the
causal impact of the Act on the racial make-up of local governments in the U.S.
South is assessed. Exploiting predetermined differential exposure of southern
counties to the Voting Rights Act, this chapter shows that the latter fostered local
African American office-holding, particularly in the powerful county commissions,
controlling local public finances. The change in the racial composition of local
governments led to faster capital spending growth.</p>
<p><b>Chapter 3</b></p>
<p><em>Uneven Roads to Office? African Americans in Southern County Governments</em></p>
<p>A key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, known as coverage, was struck
down by the Supreme Court in 2013 as no longer needed. Yet, our understanding
of its effects on African American descriptive representation remains limited. In
particular, little is known about important bodies lying at the heart of local
governments in the U.S. South. Using novel data on African American elected
officials between 1962 and 1990, this chapter exploits geographic variation in
coverage and pre-determined exposure to federal intervention to causally estimate
its effects. Coverage led to significant but uneven progress in African American
office-holding. Gains in county commissions were swift and substantial, whereas
law enforcement and judicial bodies remained overwhelmingly white. Furthermore,
African American human capital and political organizations magnified the impact
of coverage, whereas a culture of white supremacy hindered it. Electoral rules
more favorable to minorities were additional elements leading to larger gains from
the Act.</p>
<p><b>Chapter 4</b></p>
<p><em>The Impact of the Voting Rights Act on Political Mobilization and CounterMobilization</em></p>
<p>The Voting Rights Act of 1965 facilitated the registration of African Americans,
imposing federal scrutiny over the authority of local registrars. Conventional
wisdom further attributes a number of important indirect effects to the Act in
the U.S. South, including white counter-mobilization efforts and a long-lasting
loss of support for the Democratic Party. Using a novel dataset on both southern
county-level registration rates and party affiliations between 1956 and 1988, this
chapter finds empirical support to both mobilization and counter-mobilization
theories. And while the newly enfranchised African Americans unanimously
voted for Democratic candidates, the white support for the Democratic Party fell
significantly.</p>
JEL classification: D72, J15, H70, N92
Keywords: Elections, Voting Behavior, Minority Rights, Enfranchisement
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