AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN SOUTHERN RURAL REGIONS - THE IMPORTANCE OF LEGACY

This analysis reassesses the importance of the combined legacies of ra ce, class, and culture by using the concentration of African Americans in a county as a general measure of this phenomenon for thirteen Sout hern states. Explanatory variables associated with labor force structu re, social well-being and region provide evidence that those areas of the South with the highest concentrations of African Americans continu e to be the most disadvantaged. These results suggest little change fo r metropolitan counties with increased concentrations of African Ameri cans. The analyses point toward the need for a focused assessment of t he efficacy of existing public and private programs to provide a found ation for overcoming the negative dimensions of the regional legacy.