Twin brothers are the leading chroniclers of Southern politics

ATLANTA - When political strategists plan a campaign in the South, they turn to the Black books. When students want to learn about the region&#39;s politics, they take a Black class. And when reporters need analysis of a Southern politician, they call one of the Black brothers. <br> <br> Considered the leading chroniclers of Southern politics, Merle and Earl Black were born 15 minutes apart. Their books and analysis of the region&#39;s elections are indispensable for anyone trying to understand politics beneath the Mason-Dixon line. <br> <br> Born in Oklahoma and raised in Texas, the Blacks went North to school: Merle at Harvard and the University of Chicago, and Earl at Harvard after graduating from the University of Texas. <br> <br> In their lifetime, the 60-year-old identical twins have watched the region evolve from one dominated by yellow-dog Democrats such as their parents, to one in which Republicans are competitive in local races and win nearly every presidential election. <br> <br> The brothers have written three books together, including this year&#39;s ``The Rise of Southern Republicans.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Merle Black first became interested in politics as a child in the early 1950s. <br> <br> After college, he joined the Peace Corps and taught English and math in Liberia. He now is a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta. <br> <br> Earl Black&#39;s first teaching job was at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He then moved to the University of South Carolina before accepting his current position at Rice University in 1993. <br> <br> The brotherly collaboration came about gradually in the late-1970s and has worked well despite the hundreds of miles between them.

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