p” (Tate 1994: 54). The Democratic Party was more racially liberal, and so garnered the support of black America.The Black DemocratThe black voter changed substantially after the 1964 elections. He has become overwhelmingly democratic, and has given more than three-quarters of his vote to the Democratic party ever since, but that is not enough:Since 1968 blacks have given no less that 82 percent of their vote to the candidate thought to be more supportive of their interests [the Democratic candidate], but except for 1976, 1992 and 1996, its candidate has been soundly beaten in every election (Barker, Jones and Tate 1999: 23)because the “American” voter has became more conservative. After 1964, the electorate turned away from issues of civil rights and race, and returned to economic concerns. During the Civil Rights era, the black community made many steps toward equality with legislation brought about through lobbying and protest and the black vote was significant, because the government was appealing directly to race. But that appeal was short-lived because after legislation was passed the American electorate felt that it was over; blacks now had equality. And so, they moved away from it.African-Americans as a group, have remained steadfastly loyal to the Democratic party, especially in large cities and the South, unfortunately, that has not been enough, because the Democrats who tend to appeal to the black population rarely do well among more conservative white America. Due to this, blacks have become discourage, the voter turnout has dropped significantly, and continues to do so although the vote is still Democratic.One could argue that blacks have returned to choosing between the lesser of two evils, because Jesse Jackson’s two presidential bids in 1984 and 1988, increased black voter turnout for the Democratic Party, and, as Tate points out, could be responsible for the return of many blacks’ ...
