Monday, May 20, 2019

Alabama: Uncharted Territory

With passage of Alabama's new, strict abortion law; many are claiming that the Southern state is "turning back the clock" to the 1960's. Actually, Alabama is travelling into uncharted territory.

From 1919, Alabama, like other Southern states, led the way in racially-biased, pseudo-scientific eugenics programs, which often resulted in sterilizing poor woman of color deemed "mentally deficient". (University of Vermont)

In contrast to Midwestern and New England states, the South was more accepting of abortion, especially in cases of foul play. "Negrophobia", an unfounded fear of sexually-aggressive Black males, ensured that the strictest abortion laws belonged outside the south. 

Lee Atwater's 1988 Willie Horton ad, portraying an African-American rapist, played against Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign, "especially in the South". Perhaps the soft-on-crime message would've been as effective without Willie Horton's menacing mugshot. Or would it? 

Alabama formally legalized interracial marriage in 2000, through referendum with 59% approval, according to Ballotpedia.

Racial attitudes have developed much over the past 20 years. Alabama's flag still portrays Saint Andrew's cross. Yet a more visible reminder of the past, the Confederate Flag, was removed from state capitol grounds in June 2015.

In the 1960's, Spiro Agnew, then governor of Maryland, suggested that new-built neighborhoods be subject to equal housing laws. He surmised that prejudice was a learned behavior, and that new neighbors had no inherent bias. Verifying this statement, commentators today look to the racially integrated "New South" sunbelt suburbs of Atlanta, Houston and other Southern cities; in contrast to ethnic-heavy suburbs in the Northeast (Staten Island and Ocean County, NJ as two examples). 

And this past week, racial fears did not prevent Alabama from passing a strict abortion law.
Unless "a serious health risk" (confer the Alabama law) includes giving birth to a mixed-race child.

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