NEWBERN, Ala. — On a quiet, sunny morning, Gabrielle Cook and her 20-year-old son Mark Cabil walked into their town hall to cast their ballots in an election that would decide the future of their rural Alabama town. For the first time in Newbern’s history, the citizens of this majority-Black town got to participate directly […]
rural Black voters
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Some Black Rural Voters Feel Abandoned by Democrats
The election results didn’t shock Keith McCants, a 42-year-old welder in south Georgia. Leading up to Election Day, the chairman of the local Democratic Party had been door-knocking and engaging with voters across Bryan County, about 21 miles from Savannah. He even passed out Kamala Harris for President signs, but people “would take them down […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Rural Black Americans Brace for Racism, Neglect Under Trump
Amanda David felt a wave of devastation as reality sank in that former President Donald Trump would lead the country again. Yet, the past four years have felt as if he had never left. She’s been battling ongoing violent threats, racism, and harassment from her white neighbor in Ithaca, New York. The college town and […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Voting
The Powerful, Unsung Role Black Rural Voters Can Play in Our Elections
For years, Garrett Snuggs questioned why the predominantly white town council of Wadesboro, North Carolina, didn’t reflect its population — 69% of which is Black. In the rural town of 5,000, about 52 miles away from Charlotte, he noticed that many Black folks, particularly youth and men, were disengaged from the political process. That changed […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Georgia Residents React to Harris-Walz Rally in Savannah
When Brandon Byrd learned that Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be in his home state of Georgia to campaign this week, he responded: “It’s about damn time.” Byrd understands rural areas better than most as a native of Metter, a 30% Black town of fewer than 4,000 people. Since 2021, […]
Posted inRural Issues
Meet the Rural, Black Voters Who Hold the Key to Georgia’s Midterm Elections
WAYNESBORO, Ga. — In the midday heat on a late September afternoon, Shamarius “Sham” Bolton, a 25-year-old lead canvasser with the New Georgia Project, scrolled on his phone to find the next house on his list of registered voters. His task was simple: Talk to residents about their hopes, concerns, and plans for November’s midterm […]
