One little reported aspect of the recent elections was Alabama's decision to remove the ban on interracial marriages in its state constitution. The vote to remove the ban was 60 to 40 percent.
According to exit polls, the Alabama electorate was 73 percent white and 25 percent black. Assuming that blacks gave 90 percent support to the resolution (about the same level of support for Gore), then whites split just about evenly on the measure. In other words, even in the 21st century, at a best, only a bare majority of white Alabamans were willing to eliminate this Jim Crow relic from their state constitution.
-- Philip A. Klinkner Associate Professor, Department of Government Director, Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center Hamilton College 198 College Hill Road Clinton, NY 13323 315-859-4344 (Phone) 315-859-4477 (Fax) pklinkne at hamilton.edu