Here's the thing about Wallace EB,,,
yeah, the Hoovers, Goldwaters and Nixons were cut from the same cloth.
The reason I would put Wallace at the head of the pack is because, of all the subjects, he's probably the most controversial and recieves the most pounding from the media and historians. He also made the most radical swings; all the way from "segregation forever" to appointing virtually all of the black "LIBERAL" supreme court justices/judges in Alabama to countless other politics in this state in cahoots with the black "democratic" political establishment.
What/who do you see every Febuary during black history month paraded about as the foremost "Hitler" of the civil rights era? George Wallace. The state of Alabama was pretty much ground zero for the defining battle of the civil rights era (or at least Alabama gets the worst rap of any of the southern states,, except maybe tied with Mississippi). This forever immortalized Wallace as THE central opposition figure to civil rights. All the more why his "transformation" is the subject of much debate.
On the success of Atlanta, et al, and Negroes getting a piece of the pie:
Let me tell you my friend,,,,,,, I have had this debate with colleagues until I was blue in the face. I would simply say the following; I would much rather have the industry and prosperity of a Georgia, North Carolina,,, etc, and be worried about how to spread the wealth to Negroes than to have nothing and still be sitting here fighting and scratching over worthless bull-crap like the rebel flag and rather or not a copy of the Tend Commandments should reside in the capitol rotunda. Whites still control the money in Atlanta which, I agree, controls politics, but there are many more OPPORTUNITIES in Atlanta for non-whites just based on shear numbers/population/demographics alone! Must be nice to be trying to figure out how to split the pie as opposed to trying to figure out how to GET the pie.
the AJC:
yeah, yeah,,,,, i'm painfully familiar with the AJC and their articles on the south (errr,,, their Atlanta/Georgia back-patting epilogues). and gee,,, you mean Alabama/Mississippi were once again the whipping boys (for the upteenth time)???! I would have never guessed.
Atlanta people/traffic:
The more the merrier I say, then maybe Birmingham would get the spill-over like Los Vegas gets from Los Angeles.
South "world-class" metros:
The only reason I didn't include RDU and Charlotte is simply based on having the most metro area amenities and being economic powerhouses, plus population numbers in the 3M+ range. Actually as the south goes, RDU, Charlotte, Orlando, Tampa St Pete, Nashville, San Antonio, Austin and to lesser extents Memphis, Norfolk, Richmond, Lexington, Louisville and N.O. are all solid. then you have the bubble riders like Greensboro-WS-High Point, Greensville-Spartanburg, Birmingham, Shreveport,,, and the next generation like the Mobiles, chattanooga/Knoxvilles, Columbia/Charlstons, Jacksons, Baton Rouges.