To Town Bank, if you look at the election of 1876 you'll see that the race between Tilden ( Democrat ) and Hayes ( Republican ) was so close that the election was decided by the House of Representatives. A deal was made with the Southern Dems that if they voted for Hayes the Republicans would end Reconstruction. The rest is history! Almost one hundred years of "Jim Crow" followed. With that came lynchings, voter, suppression and "Klan" terror. Maybe that is why African Americans vote Democrat. Maybe that betrayal was the reason for thechange.