Respectability politics deferred to segregation in practice but never in principle

Evidence

On the contrary, the politics of respectability constituted a deliberate, highly self-conscious concession to hegemonic values. While deferring to segregation in practice, adherents of respectability never deferred to it in principle. The Baptist women’s emphasis on manners and morals served to reinforce their sense of moral superiority over whites. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 886

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes the coined term from both supine deference and Bourdieu’s unconscious habitus model.
• XREF: Directly engages Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and bodily hexis; connects to the reader’s sociology-of-knowledge thread. — connects to: Color-blind respectability politics marginalized open segregationists — Matthew D. Lassiter, The Suburban Origins of “Color-Blind”…, 95; Respectability politics served as a foundation for overt black political action — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 1031

Broader Connections

• Respectability politics served as a foundation for overt black political action #complicates (0.75) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 1031