Black rural voters could be key to Democrats eyeing Georgia
A particular topic of interest was a strategy for voter turnout — and how to fight the barriers to it — in what could be a pivotal midterm election.
"We've got to get out to the nursing homes, tell the DJ if that's what we've got to do to get to the young folks," said Houston County NAACP Vice President
These were not the rural voters who have gotten so much attention after helping elect President
"There's a narrative that is out in the world right now around what rural America looks like, and it completely erases the existence of black rural folks," said
The Black Belt's overlap with Trump country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor's mansion in
But it's
"Since the beginning of the campaign,
Statewide, a third of rural Georgians are people of color, and Abrams has been making her case to black rural voters in churches like the one in
During the primary, Abrams' efforts paid off in places like predominantly black
Rural blacks' priorities often differ from those of their urban counterparts. Many suffer from health disparities, including obesity, maternal mortality, diabetes and sickle cell, living in regions with few hospitals, governed by state officials who have rejected the expansion of Medicaid that would help them afford treatment. The Black Belt was historically an agricultural region that remains starved for economic development, and the class and power divide that began during slavery still persists along racial lines in many communities.
While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 politically changed the region with the onslaught of black public elected officials, another result was voter suppression, said
"It's a black population that has been so mistreated and so marginalized by the political system that many people are like, 'My vote doesn't count anyway,'" Hobson said. "There is a sense of hopelessness."
That dynamic has paralyzed some blacks in the South, but this fall's midterms could signal a shift among those voters and a way forward for
"Our people have voted year after year after year, and they have not seen their lives change," said
"We do not necessarily unite, but when other people know that the black people in
Down the road in
"Most of our citizens feel that people we have elected have let us down," he explained. "They get elected and forget about who elected them and their platform. So why should I keep on voting for you?"
"The majority of the national politicians feel that ... they don't have to worry about little rural places. Most folks are concentrating on metro
Holley went to see Abrams speak at a campaign event earlier this month with former President
It's a message Holley plans to take to the registered voters he hopes to help turn out in
"I can't give a good answer on that yet," he said. "People are excited, but
Whack is The Associated Press' national writer on race and ethnicity. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous .
This story has been corrected to show that state officials have rejected the expansion of Medicaid, not Medicare.
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