the racial structure — political dominance — was tied to . . . women ’ s role as mothers .”
The racist history of the anti-abortion movement wasn ’ t lost on Jerry Falwell , who had spent decades since Brown v . Board opening , running , and authorizing whites-only “ Christian ” private schools .
One of the most prolific multimillionaire marketers among the evangelical Protestant community , Falwell seems to have realized that being opposed to abortion could be a huge fundraiser and publicity machine for his growing televangelism business .
As a bonus , it dovetailed nicely with the white supremacist philosophy that animated his then-all-white school empire .
Merging the two needed a bit of marketing , though , and they needed a high-profile politician to bring this to a national stage . The candidacy of Ronald