Dr. James LeLoudis II, an historian who specializes in the history of North Carolina and the American South, was called to the stand as a witness for the Plaintiffs on day ten of the federal lawsuit seeking to overturn VIVA.
Taking the long view
LeLoudis sketched a history of African American voting rights in North Carolina that fell into three periods. He began with the period immediately following the Civil War, when emancipated slaves embraced the ballot box and created a “Fusion” alliance with white voters that expanded the franchise and ended with over 1,000 black officials and four black congressmen elected to office by the end of the century.
The backlash came in 1898 with the Wilmington Riots, Leloudis said. A white mayor and biracial city government were overthrown at gunpoint by white supremacists in what Leloudis called “a coup d’etat.” By 1899 the state government had added polls taxes and literacy tests to the state’s constitution, ushering in the era of Jim Crow, he explained.
Historians call Jim Crow “the nadir of American race relations,” Leloudis said. The loss of voting rights meant less funding for segregated African American schools and black wages depressed to “subsistence” levels, he said.
During World War II, he said, African Americans rallied for a “double V victory “— over fascism abroad and Jim Crow at Home.
The impact of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 was “less than you might think,” he said. He traced the growth of African American political power to Dan Blue’s election to Speaker of the North Carolina House in 1990 and compared the implementation of early voting, same-day registration and other innovations to the expansion of the franchise during the post-Civil War “Fusion” period.
“It appears that House Bill 589 fits the pattern” of pushback after African American gains in political power, he said.
He said the state government of North Carolina had become “unresponsive” to the input of minorities and “has extracted a heavy price” from African Americans.
Ideology and Context
In his cross-examination Defense attorney Phillip Strach asked Leloudis if it was possible for a modern conservative to oppose liberal goals, such as Medicaid expansion, for reasons other than racism.
Leloudis said yes, “but that yes is also in the context” of larger historical patterns.
Strach pointed out the current number of African American members of the General Assembly is the highest in North Carolina History.
“This state has changed,” Leloudis agreed. He said some improvements were worth celebrating, but “I’m not sure that change is evidence more change is unneeded.”
Strach asked Leloudis if current black lawmakers enjoyed equal participation in the General Assembly. Leloudis said he was concerned about the broader political system and all citizens having a voice.
“Policy comes out of an inclusive process,” he said.
Leloudis was the final expert witness called by the Plaintiffs. The Defense began calling witnesses Friday afternoon, and will complete their case next week.
.
