File #2621: "EN3414_Spring2024__TheNegroVoterInTheSouth_019.pdf"
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ing in white homes only in a servant capacity.
In 1940, Florida had 51 countie with no Negroes registered, by 1946,
only four, and 10 year later only two. However, the number of counties
in which Negroes are registered gives an exaggerated picture of the
extent of Negro registration. In some counties, Negro electors constitute a
small proportion of those on the voting list . This is seen, for example, in
the following counties:
County
Flagler .
Gadsden
Liberty.
Taylor .
Union .
Negro Population
Over 21
872
10,930
333
1,945
2,453
Negro Percentage of Number of Negroes
Total Population
Registered, 1956
45.6
64
56.1
5
18.3
1
30.5
91
36.3
6
In the counties where Negro suffrage is limited most sharply, fear is a
major deterring factor. In parts of the state, indirect methods are used to
discourage Negro voters and the open threat has been reported, too. In
one county, the first Negro registrants in history were subjected to several
forms of intimidation-cross burnings, bomb-throwings and shots fired into
their homes. All but one of the registrants in thi county withdrew their
names from the rolls.
In another Florida county, in the plantation section, it was reported
that Negroes, most of whom live in rural areas, are discouraged from coming to the business district on election day. In still another county one
supervisor of registration has told Negro applicants, "Come on in and
register," while sitting with his legs streched across the door. Other Negroes
complained that loungers around a courthouse told them, "Go ahead and
register if you can take what comes afterwards."
Field studies were made in a number of Georgia counties repre entative of the various sub-regional areas of the state. One of these is Early,
located in the extreme southwest portion of Georgia on the Alabama line.
It is in a cluster of counties considered the "hard core" of the state in
terms of resistance to integration. In such counties as Early, Miller, Seminole, and Decatur, the egro population is from 30 to 50 per cent of the
total. In other southwest counties such as Clay, Calhoun, Baker, Dougherty, Quitman, Randolph, Terrell, Lee, Sumter, Webster, and Stewart, the
Negro percentage of the total population is over 50 per cent. The means
of excluding Negroes as registrants in these counties is similar to that reported in other areas of the South. In some, there is the ever present threat
of racial violence, which erupts on occasion. Often, police brutality
against Negroes indicates to them they cannot depend upon law enforcement authorities to offer them protection if they try to vote. In recent
[ 19 ]
In 1940, Florida had 51 countie with no Negroes registered, by 1946,
only four, and 10 year later only two. However, the number of counties
in which Negroes are registered gives an exaggerated picture of the
extent of Negro registration. In some counties, Negro electors constitute a
small proportion of those on the voting list . This is seen, for example, in
the following counties:
County
Flagler .
Gadsden
Liberty.
Taylor .
Union .
Negro Population
Over 21
872
10,930
333
1,945
2,453
Negro Percentage of Number of Negroes
Total Population
Registered, 1956
45.6
64
56.1
5
18.3
1
30.5
91
36.3
6
In the counties where Negro suffrage is limited most sharply, fear is a
major deterring factor. In parts of the state, indirect methods are used to
discourage Negro voters and the open threat has been reported, too. In
one county, the first Negro registrants in history were subjected to several
forms of intimidation-cross burnings, bomb-throwings and shots fired into
their homes. All but one of the registrants in thi county withdrew their
names from the rolls.
In another Florida county, in the plantation section, it was reported
that Negroes, most of whom live in rural areas, are discouraged from coming to the business district on election day. In still another county one
supervisor of registration has told Negro applicants, "Come on in and
register," while sitting with his legs streched across the door. Other Negroes
complained that loungers around a courthouse told them, "Go ahead and
register if you can take what comes afterwards."
Field studies were made in a number of Georgia counties repre entative of the various sub-regional areas of the state. One of these is Early,
located in the extreme southwest portion of Georgia on the Alabama line.
It is in a cluster of counties considered the "hard core" of the state in
terms of resistance to integration. In such counties as Early, Miller, Seminole, and Decatur, the egro population is from 30 to 50 per cent of the
total. In other southwest counties such as Clay, Calhoun, Baker, Dougherty, Quitman, Randolph, Terrell, Lee, Sumter, Webster, and Stewart, the
Negro percentage of the total population is over 50 per cent. The means
of excluding Negroes as registrants in these counties is similar to that reported in other areas of the South. In some, there is the ever present threat
of racial violence, which erupts on occasion. Often, police brutality
against Negroes indicates to them they cannot depend upon law enforcement authorities to offer them protection if they try to vote. In recent
[ 19 ]