The Southernization of America: Trumpism and the Long Road Ahead

by Frye Gaillard, Frye Gaillard

Pulitzer Prize-winner Cynthia Tucker and award-winning author Frye Gaillard reflect in a powerful series of essays on the role of the South in America’s long descent into Trumpism. In 1974 the great Southern author John Egerton published his seminal work, The Americanization of The Southernization of America, reflecting on the double-edged reality of the South becoming more like the rest of the country and vice versa. Tucker and Gaillard dive even deeper into that reality from the time that Egerton published his book until the present. They see the dark side—the morphing of the Southern strategy of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan into the Republican Party of today with its thinly disguised (if indeed it is disguised all all) embrace of white supremacy and the subversion of democratic ideals. They explore the “birtherism” of Donald Trump and the roots of the racial backlash against President Obama; the specter of family separation on our southern border, with its echoes of similar separations in the era of slavery; as well as the rise of the Christian right, the demonstrations in Charlottesville, the death of George Floyd, and the attack on our nation’s capital—all of which, they argue, have roots that trace their way to the South. But Tucker and Gaillard see another side too, a legacy rooted in the civil rights years that has given us political leaders like John Lewis, Jimmy Carter, Raphael Warnock, and Stacy Abrams. The authors raise the ironic possibility that the South, regarded by some as the heart of the country’s systemic racism, might lead the way on the path to redemption. Tucker and Gaillard, colleagues and frequent collaborators at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, bring a multi-racial perspective and years of political reporting to bear on a critical moment in American history, a time of racial reckoning and of democracy under siege.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Essays, Race, American History, Sociology

170 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2022

Reviews

[Tbuikema · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I heard Gaillard talk about this book at an event, he sounded hopeful that the South had learned some things that the rest of the country could pick up on as we all continue to work toward a more just society. As I read the book it seemed much darker, less hopeful. There’s an occasional ray of light, as individuals step up to provide hope (e.g., Jimmy Carter, John Lewis, John Hulett, Stacey Abrams, Raphael Warnock, …), but it’s a dark world that they’re trying to illuminate. Gaillard and co-author Cynthia Tucker write wonderfully and the pages fly by as they share their essays. But I did not put this book on the shelf filled with joy and hope.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written essays exploring the history of institutional racism in the United States written both authors, one Black and one White. It brings home how very far we have to go before there is true equality between the races in our country.

Definitely worth reading.

[Brad Windom · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a regurgitation of facts, timelines, and brief biographies of Southern and non-Southern political figures from the Civil Rights Era to now (Stacey Abrams, John Lewis, George Wallace, Jimmy Carter, Trump), with sparse insights. Almost textbook-like but having been written by two journalists, it makes sense.

Fails to mention much of classist struggles that parallel racial struggles aside from one name-drop of the Poor People’s March, but it did introduce me to some more potential voices to read. Could make for a good overview for younger readers or people with perspectives outside of the US to make sense of things that have happened in the past and how they continue to have ramifications. Unfortunately already feels a bit dated.

[Penny Cipolone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-drawn summary of how the GOP has gotten to the state it is in today. It goes all the way back to the Nixon years. Very readable.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of essays is a great read. It is short, just 200 pages with Index, but it succinctly relays the connections between the politics of white grievance and those channels of white power that are still generating today just as they did with the likes of George Wallace and Richard Nixon so many decades ago. If you’ve read Isabel Wilkerson, Bryan Stevenson, or other modern authors who document historical facts of systemic racism, you will recognize many of the same truths and topics here.
Racism never went away, it just lay buried until unleashed as a political strategy in a new decade with new dog whistles: CRT, voter integrity, and stoking fears of white parents. There were numerous tidbits of information learned that I had not heard about before. For this reader, it spells out clearly how so many of us are living with dismay as we now find our democracy hanging in the balance. The plans that have been in the works for decades have born their fruit to rob Americans of truth, of facts, and any hope that we had in the 60s and 70s that the human family could treat each and everyone as equals under the law.

[Bearcatgary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the book, but I had to knock it down a star because it really is only going to appeal to people on the left of the political spectrum. The book is a set of essays by the two authors that mostly covers the previous 50 or so years in this countries political history while emphasizing the relevance of the southern United States in that discussion. In many respects, it’s simply a book about how we got to where we are. I thought it was also going to be a book that also discussed other aspects of Southern life like pop culture (country music, college football, NASCAR…), but that wasn’t the case at all. No problem, it was very engaging and an easy read.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book club is reading this book for discussing in January. The book is short and easy to read but the content is chilling. The midterm election of 2022 gave a glimmer of hope for democracy but only a glimmer. Can’t wait for our discussion

[Michelle Adamo #EmptyNestReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Southernization of America is a compilation of seven essays that examine “the role of the South in America’s long descent into Trumpism”. Authored by two Southern journalists, one white and one black: Pulitzer Prize winner Cynthia Tucker and award-winning journalist Frye Gaillard. These essays take a deep dive into American politics.

Beginning with 1974, Tucker and Gaillard, both professors or visiting professors at the University of
South Alabama, examine how the GOP consciously addressed white grievances by morphing them into their political platforms with the help of people such as George Wallace, Richard Nixon and Ronald Regan. Years of grooming and planning in the GOP has brought us the backlash against President Obama which which can be directly related to Donald Trump and his “birtherism” campaign, as well as the separation of refugee families seeking asylum (recalling memories of the treatment of black families in the era of slavery) and, of course, the attack on our Capital. With seemingly no repercussions, Trump abandoned the racial code words used by his GOP predecessors instead following the path made by George Wallace - saying what he believed, with both the GOP and the Christian right following along.

Thankfully there is brightness in the book with heros such as John Lewis, Jimmy Carter, Ralph Warnock and Stacy Abrams fighting back, pushing the south to do the right thing. The most incongruous part of the book occurs when it comes full circle suggesting that the south with the likes of the people mentioned above, could become the leaders of our country's redemption. Tucker and Gaillard suggest that they “might lead the way on the path to redemption”.

I watched the authors being interviewed about their book. When asked about what he sees in the future Gaillard responded “guarded optimism on my best days and abject pessimism on my worst” suggesting that we must keep in mind that “John Lewis never gave up”. Well written and very thoughtful . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


#emptynestreader #instagram #TheSouthernizationofAmerica #AStoryofDemocracyintheBalance #NonFiction #CynthiaTucker #FryeGaillard #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramalabama #bookstagrammichigan #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecommendations #Hoopla #MayReads #readalittlelearnalittlelivealittle #ebooks #audiobooks #emptynestreaderaudiobooks🎧 #librarybooks

[Jack R.]

The first essay hoodwinked me: what I thought was going to be a thoughtful reflection on a the "dream deferred" of southern blacks post-civil rights (one of the authors wrote a book with similar wording in the title some forty-years-ago), I immediately began to see the book is actually composed of "Resistance Lib" essays slamming Trump and his Republican cohorts in the most mind-numbingly redundant way possible. Each chapter is a bingo card assortment of critiques, from highlighting Trump's racist rhetoric to the hypocrisy of the evangelicals for supporting his candidacy. Not only do we get these same points on television daily (MSNBC), in the press monthly (Atlantic, The Nation), but some middle brow publisher, especially years circa 2017-2021, has about three books in press with the same trodden arguments of Tucker and Gaillard. This is not excusing Trump because the two authors are right about nearly all of the former presidents misdeeds (their attempts at defending critical race theory, though, needed a polish), it is just that nothing they said was new, interesting, or particularly insightful.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Trump lacked Bush's personal piety, but that didn't matter. Trump abandoned the racial code words that Bush and Reagan and their GOP predecessors had used, exchanging them for the explicit racist harangues of George Wallace. That didn't matter, either. It may have been part of the appeal."

As is the case with so many books, the people who most need to read this probably never will.
But these essays draw such compelling parallels between Trumpism and pre-Civil Rights era racism that it's impossible to deny its intentionality.

A quick read chock full of historic and modern connections between the Trump years and the long standing political role of the South.
Highly recommend.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays by political writers detailing changes in political strategies over decades incorporating white supremist views in varying ways and degrees. It is revealing and thought-provoking. The writers do provide their perceptions of the "other Party's" values and strategies, which may or may not be totally on target. One major takeaway is the importance of voting and maintaining voting rights for everyone. I see a peaceful, equitable voting process each time I go to the polls but no doubt not everyone is as fortunate. A democracy is only as strong as the public who support it.

[Jacqueline Mclemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot and connected unsequenced information floating around the periphery of my awareness. That may make no sense, but what it means is that I, southern born Black woman, thought I had some understanding of southern history. I do not. I have some loosely held bits of facts that, until now, passed for knowledge.
The essays in the succinct book pulled together a narrative of an ongoing southern strategy that starts in slavery and persists through Trump. Reading these essays during the time period of the January 6th hearings has made the history even more compelling.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book while on vacation this past July and it was certainly one that I was looking forward to read. It is a concept that I am interested in exploring and one is clearly evident. The book is well-written and has a lot of good information. What holds it back from me is that it went over a lot of events in a survey style that many fans of US History and that time period may already know. I would have like to have seen more diving into the Southernization of the everyday culture throughout the US and more argument than a fairly straight re-telling of the era.

[Ayman Fadel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are indoctrinated by American Exceptionalism & White Supremacy, this collection is like dipping your toes into a lake of reality. And it's great for that purpose.

If you are already well-read, there's not much new in this. In addition, it refuses to address the ways the modern Democratic Party (Pres Clinton, Pres Obama, Sec Clinton, Pres Biden) strengthened white supremacy.

So after you read this, start reading more critical histories of USA.

[Don Siegrist · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. I expected this to be an explanation of how and why Southern culture has inexplicably taken over much of America. Country music, fundamentalist Christianity, right wing politics, guns, pickup trucks..... Instead it's simply an overview of American political history over the past 60 years from a far-left point of view. And a very high level overview; I learned nothing new. A great title but a disappointing read.

[Savanna Wooten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. In an era where political books seem to appear overnight, this was a refreshing anecdote with good, thoughtful writing. A genuinely valuable read.

[Ryan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much a recent history as an analysis.

[Richard Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. A collection of over-generalizations, conjecture, and simplistic view of democracy in America. I am sure it will confirm the suspicions of the coasts and ignore the reality of much of the flyover portion of America.