Historians of Atlanta focused on the moderate power structure and ignored segregationists

Evidence

Given the central historical importance of Atlanta, for both civil rights activists and segregationists alike, the lack of scholarship on its changes during the civil rights era is surprising, to say the least. Recently, fine work has been done on race relations in the first half of the century, but the historiography on the postwar era remains thin. What scant scholarship does exist has been dominated by a paradigm stressing the centrality of the “community power structure” above all else. Now commonplace, the phrase was originally coined to describe Atlanta, a city long controlled by a moderate coalition of businessmen and boosterish politicians. In studies centered on this power structure, the course of civil rights has usually been addressed, but only in relation to the main concern of mainstream politics. After World War II, African Americans emerged as a crucial part of the coalition that controlled the city, and, as such, these scholars have had to explain their rise to prominence and their role as the “junior partner” in a reformulated power structure. But black Atlantans operating outside—or even against—the dominant political coalition have received little attention in these works. In the past decade, additional works on the civil rights era have appeared, but little change has been made to the “community power structure” approach created a half century ago. Black radicals are still marginalized. Meanwhile, the great numbers of white working-class and middle-class segregationists aligned on the other side of the racial divide have received no attention at all. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 42

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘community power structure’ paradigm that dominated Atlanta historiography — its focus on a moderate business-politician coalition. This frames why the author’s subject (white flight) was previously neglected.
• XREF: connects to: Atlanta civil rights histories overlooked working-class and middle-class whites’ central role — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 629; Atlanta’s image of racial moderation was elite economic calculation, not conviction — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 101; Atlanta elites sacrificed segregation customs to protect business progress — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 91 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Atlanta civil rights histories overlooked working-class and middle-class whites’ central role #expands (0.90) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 629
• Postwar Atlanta’s desegregation was driven by a white-black moderate coalition, not activists or reactionaries #exemplifies (0.85) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 50
• Atlanta’s moderate coalition allied blacks with affluent whites against white workers #expands (0.80) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 100
• Atlanta elites sacrificed segregation customs to protect business progress #corroborates (0.78) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 91
• Atlanta’s image of racial moderation was elite economic calculation, not conviction #expands (0.75) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 101
• Early Black historiography challenged exclusion while accepting dominant values #corroborates (0.72)