Southern Realignment: The Impossible Coalition w/ Eric K. Ward (Part One)

All this month, we're partnering with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for a series called "Democracy Under Construction." You can find out more about their work at kettering.org and listen to their podcast "The Context" at kettering.org/thecontext For the thirty-fifth installment of "50 Weeks That Shaped America" we go to 1964, and a moment when the two major parties in this country, in a sense, switched. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Eric K. Ward, Executive Vice President of Race Forward, to trace the story from Jim Crow through the New Deal and into the Civil Rights Act -- and to understand why the Democratic coalition that produced it was always too contradictory to survive. How did Black voters move from Lincoln's party to LBJ's? And what did white Southerners do when their party started to leave them behind? Be sure to check out Eric's documentary "White with Fear" on PBS. Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now. This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypod Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices