The 1944 white-primary ruling gave Atlanta blacks decisive electoral leverage

Evidence

When the Supreme Court struck down the Texas white primary in 1944, for instance, he understood the ruling’s implications for his city and his career. “What the courts have done is give the black man in Atlanta the ballot,” he confided to his chief of police. “And for your information, the ballot is a front ticket for any-damn-wheres he wants to sit, if he knows how to use it. And Atlanta Negroes know how to use it.” — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 81

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the chapter-theme of black leaders preparing voters in advance, matching the Bacote line that precedes: registration work was raced against the expected Supreme Court overturn. — connects to: The Smith v. Allwright ruling opened Georgia’s white primary to federal challenge — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 59; Black voters helped pass an annexation that diluted their own electoral strength — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 96; County-wide voting rules diluted black electoral power before redistricting — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations: How Building a…, 42

Broader Connections

• Black voters helped pass an annexation that diluted their own electoral strength #complicates (0.75) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 96
• County-wide voting rules diluted black electoral power before redistricting #expands (0.72) — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 42