James McBride Dabbs (May 8, 1896 – May 30, 1970) was an American author and farmer from South Carolina known for his writings on religion and Southern culture.

[1][2] Dabbs was cited in Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail as a Southern writer who wrote about the struggle of African Americans in "eloquent and prophetic terms."

"[3] Dabbs was born on May 8, 1896, near Mayesville, South Carolina close to his family's estate, Rip Raps Plantation.

"[5] Dabbs' mother died when he was twelve years old and his relationship with his father, a poor overseer who married into money, was not perfect.

[3] His 1958 book, The Southern Heritage was highly regarded for its liberal stances on civil rights issues including desegregation.

"[1] On April 10–12, 1996, the University of South Carolina held the Dabbs Centennial Symposium which included panelists Jack Bass and Cleveland Sellers.

"[14] Dabbs believed that the New England form of English agricultural towns made Northerners less individualistic and more institutionally minded than the rural Southerners.

[13] Dabbs believed that God put African American slaves in the South to test white southerners.

[3] The historian, Fred Hobson, states that this idea of the South being a "pilot plant" for race relations was the central theme of Dabbs' most important works.