7
THE CITIZEN JULY 13 -19.1986
Campaign for a ne
So
One of the mo important
elections of the dec e too
place recently in the Alabama
Blac Belt. At stake were
numerou political offices held
by Blac elected officials in 10
ey BI c -majority co untie .
Al at ake were the progre
ve gains which have been
m de in that area over the p t
vera} year .
The area i often referred
to a the cradle of the civil
right movement." It i here
that many 10 t their live in the
determined struggle for the
right to vote. It i here th t
J immi Lee J n and Viola
Liuzzo illed during the
1ma to arch in
mobilization.
According to the Rev. Ben­
jamin F. Chavis, Jr., the Com­
mission' Executive Director, the
aim of the group was to bear
witness with those who had
be n intimidated by the
Justice Department investiga­
tion, to mobilize Black voter
and to monitor the primary
election. In Alabam the
group joined with many other
freedom workers who had also
come from aero the country
to assist in the election.
A Dr. Chavi told a church
oncgregation 2 day before the
election, I don't have to come
from ew York or Washington,
D.C. or anywhere el to tell
Greene County for over 20
years, was convicted by an
all-white jury on 4 counts of
voter fraud. Greene County is
78% Bl c .
victory he noted," y opponent
• was so busy consolidating the
white vote that he unwittingly
helped us consolidate the Black
vote." Sen. Sanders' opponent,
Andrew . Hayden, had said
in an interview that his candi­
dacy offered white voters their
first opportunity to vote for a
Black candidate who would
represent their intere s.
Yet the hard struggles of the
Civil Right Movement are still
deeply ingrained in the con-
iousness of the Alabama Bl ck
Belt. At a prayer vigil in Greene
County where Dr. Chavis spoke
the Saturday before the elect­
ion, Mrs. Juanita Walton and her
husband Lewis Walton spoke of
the way it was before the Voting
Right Act of 965.
r Walton reflected, "I
went through a lot of trouble
to get registered b k before
the Voting Right Act. Two
white people had to sign the
application form for you bac
then in order for Black to get
registered. That's why the vote
i so important to me now. It
makes me feel really important.
It make me feel like I'm on the
level with the ones that think
they're on top." The Walton,
both in their 70' , have been
community organizers in Green
County since the early 1960's.
The election in Greene Coun­
ty was particularly important
it took place in the wake of
continued Federal and tate
intimidation of Black voters.
In f: t, hile the Freedom
Rider were in Alabama an
FBI agent conspicuously drove
by a local home where voter
registration worker were sist­
ing a local resident to vote
ab ntee. . The agent al called
the county registrar to obtain
the name of tho filing ab n­
tee ballot.
Dr. Chavis responded by
immediately sending letters by
me nger to both President
R agan and to William Bradford
Reynolds, Assistant Attorney
General of the Justice Depart­
ment's Civil Right Division.
In tho letters he condemned
the Justice Department'
apparent attempt to intimidate
Blac voters just prior to the
June 3rd primary. Receipt
of the letters was confirmed
via follow-up di u . ons by
phone with the White Hou
and the Justice Department.
According to rs. Rosa Car­
penter, a long-time civil rights
worker in Greene County ,
"Since Rev. Chavi wrote tho
letters we haven't seen an FBI
person anywhere. And the
bsence of the FBI was crucial
to the high voter turnout in
Greene County."
Mrs. Carpenter al believed
that the political defeat of
John Kennard, the Blac tax
a sor of Greene County, was
du to hi clo a ciation with
the FBI. Mr. Kennard had
been en riding in a car with
the FBI agent a few days prior
to the election. He lost to the
Black incumbent, State Rep.
Lucius Blac ,by 1,200 vote .
Local resid nts had good rea­
son to be troubled by the FBI
pre nee in Greene County be-
fore the election. Late last
year key Black civil rights
leader in that county and in
4 other majority-Blac coun­
ties in abama were the focus
of an intensive Justice Depart­
ment investigation related to
ab ntee ballots. The inve ti­
gation brought hunderds of
Federal agent into the Black
Belt.
In Greene County Spiver
Gordon, a civil rights leader in
1965. It is also near here th t
4 little BI children were
bombed in a Birmingham
church in 1963.
The June 3rd primary w
the area' fir election since
Justice Department investi­
gation t rgeted the Blae leader­
ship of tho 5 counties with
the large number of Bl
elected official: Greene, Perry,
Sumter, Lownde and ilcoc.
Local citizen had charged that
the inve tig tion was launched
to deere a Blae voter turnout
in the upcomin election.
In an effort to counter the
chillin effect of that inve i-
tion, the Commi 'on for
R cial Juice of the 1.7 million­
member United Church of Chri
be an 'Freedom Riders 1986"
campaign. Over the I 4
month the Commi sian too
more than 100 freedom rider ,
hailin from veral t te , to
Alabarn to wor on voter
you h tote. You know
ho to vote. I'm here in the
nam of the Lord only to make
re tha you do vote. We
are called on June 3rd to prac­
ti our faith by not giving into
the po er -of evil and staying
home, but by coming out and
having a joyou d y."
A result of strong gra -
root political organization and
with the . tance of concern­
ed volunteer from throughout
the United States, key political
post were retained in the
hands of Blac office holder .
One election centered around
the at of incumbent Blac •
State Sen. Hank Sanders. Sen.
Sander , a dedicated civil right
ttorney, w the fir Blac
ate nator elected from the
western Alabama Black Belt in
over 100 year. He was first
elected in 1983.
Sen. Sanders won with 58%
of the vote. In analyzing his
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