Some people in this country are sincerely confused to hear people talk about “white supremacy” in conjunction with politics in America today. At the same time, a lot of people, both openly and in private, have consternation about changing demographics in America.
Let me explain.
In 1870, right after the Civil War, the US Census showed that there were six states in which African Americans made up more than 45% of the state population - South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Georgia. The region we call the “Deep South” plus Florida.
Ten years prior, many of these human beings were considered to be the legal property of other human beings. And then came the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the US Constitution. Suddenly, these former slaves were citizens. And the men could VOTE.
Suddenly, a lot of whites in these southern states had the fear that they were now either in the minority or at least not in a strong plurality. Their former subjects were now recognized as their equals according to the text of the US Constitution.
And they freaked out.