The Politics of Annexation: Oligarchic Power in a Southern City

This Open Access Edition of The Politics of Annexation presents a newly formatted version of the original 1982 edition. The text itself has been edited only for non-substantive style changes and corrections. The Preface, the new Introduction (“Fifty Years Later”), and the index were prepared especially for this edition. The original edition was published by Schenkman Publishing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is available online through the UR Scholarship Repository at https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/307/ The Politics of Annexation examines the process of American cities using annexation of suburban areas as a tool to increase their tax base and generate new revenue. The authors find that the annexation by Richmond, Virginia of part of Chesterfield County in 1970 was in fact racially motivated, and a way to dilute the black vote. They examine the details behind the annexation as well as its aftermath in subsequent litigation, leading to the Supreme Court. They also study annexation cases in Houston and San Antonio, drawing parallels with Richmond regarding their racially-based annexation efforts. "The Politics of Annexation is one of the first scholarly attempts to explain the uniqueness of civil rights activism in Richmond"--Julian Maxwell Hayter, from his Preface. ; https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/politics_annexation/1000/thumbnail.jpg