Preface to Peasantry: A Tale of Two Black Belt Counties

A social scientist and public intellectual, Arthur Raper (1899-1979) advocated unpopular solutions to combat the shortcomings of race relations and economic stagnation in the South. Originally published in 1936, Preface to Peasantry confirmed Raper’s place in the Chapel Hill Southern Regionalist movement of the 1930s and 1940s and elaborated his belief that New Deal federal planning could create progressive social policies.Adroitly juxtaposing themes of history and sociology, Preface to Peasantry is a text both descriptive of a broad phenomenon and prescriptive of policymaking to address the destruction of rural American life. This edition features a new introduction from Louis Mazzari to contextualize Raper’s life and writings.