The black-and-tan faction was a faction in the History of the United States Republican Party in the South from the 1870s to the 1960s. See also Negro Republican Party.
Southern Republicans were divided into two factions: the lily-white faction, which was practically all-white, and the biracial black-and-tan faction. The former was strongest in heavily white counties. The final victory of its opponent the lily-white faction came in 1964.
History
The black-and-tan faction was biracial. It sought to include most African-American voters within the party. They often took a prominent part in the national conventions of the Republican party. One reason for the continuance of the black-and-tan faction was its effect in holding the African-American Republican vote in northern states. The black-and-tans predominated in counties with a large black population, the whites in these counties being usually Democrats. The lily-whites were mostly found in the counties where fewer blacks lived.
The factionalism flared up in 1928 and 1952. The surviving Black-and-tan factions lost heavily in 1964 and practically disappeared.