My father ran against that Georgia candidate in the primary and won the popular vote but lost due to the County Unit System. He got out of politics, but lived long enough to take his three children to the first integrated meeting in the Marriott Hotel where the SCLC was meeting in 1964, with MLK speaking and Aretha Franklin singing. Than…
My father ran against that Georgia candidate in the primary and won the popular vote but lost due to the County Unit System. He got out of politics, but lived long enough to take his three children to the first integrated meeting in the Marriott Hotel where the SCLC was meeting in 1964, with MLK speaking and Aretha Franklin singing. Thank God for Black Lives Matter since it has exposed the perpetual system of violence to which citizens of color are still subjected.
I did not know what the "County Unit System" was until I just now looked it up. Was like an extreme form of the electoral college inequities, and took many decades to finally dismantle. And I'm figuring other southern states had similar. Now here we are with those same states recreating, in effect, the same rigged system. But, yes, agreed: Thank God that BLM has exposed so much and finally more white people are listening, believing.
(Oh, I see you're a retired library science professor. My mother got her MLS here in CT and was a law librarian for many years.)
Hello, Storrs graduate! The County Unit system gave equal weight to rural and urban counties, and thus nullified the advantages of population density, somewhat in the same way that electoral votes do. I think that is why there have been so many calls to abolish the electoral college since the America it was created to serve has long since passed.
Hi! My mom actually went to Southern CT State University (though I think it was still "College" then in the late 70s when she went back to school). Yes, nullifying the sometimes enormous advantages of population density, with the outcome being as or more undemocratic as the electoral system.
I don't know how, but I was not aware of the Dorsey and Malcom executions, although I was a teen during the 1960s. That period of the 1940s must also be a frightening, very heightened memory for many. What strength your family must have developed to continue to live there! How old were you at the time? What was it like to live in that community? Have you written about it?
I was born the same year, 1946. Atlanta was progressive in the fifties and sixties, although old attitudes survived and would not pass muster today. For example, the Civil War centennial was celebrated in 1962, along with a Gone with The Wind twenty-five year anniversary attended by Olivia de Havilland, Vivien Leigh, David Selznick, Ann Rutherford, and Butterfly McQueen. The color line was mostly observed in homes, less so in business and civic affairs. I lived a double life, went to school in Connecticut and learned to mask some of my Georgia traits, but longed to be part of the celebrations. I’m not sure I could do justice to all that was going on simultaneously in the sixties.
I grew up in Philadelphia PA and went to school nearby, seemingly less turbulent territory, and I've also felt I couldn't do justice in writing (or any medium) to all that went on around me.
“One person, one vote.” And too possible if Voter Rights are law and enforced. Thank you for the link. Electoral college and this County Unit System are similar and make sure that the “one person one vote” doesn’t happen. Time for a change. Now.
My father ran against that Georgia candidate in the primary and won the popular vote but lost due to the County Unit System. He got out of politics, but lived long enough to take his three children to the first integrated meeting in the Marriott Hotel where the SCLC was meeting in 1964, with MLK speaking and Aretha Franklin singing. Thank God for Black Lives Matter since it has exposed the perpetual system of violence to which citizens of color are still subjected.
Kudos to your father, Jim. As I’m sure you recognize, you were lucky to have him.
Thanks, Jon. Indeed. He provided an exemplar on many levels. My own struggle has been to find my own way, which he mostly encouraged.
What a great memory to have - seeing & hearing both of them. We still have a long way to go - very long.
I did not know what the "County Unit System" was until I just now looked it up. Was like an extreme form of the electoral college inequities, and took many decades to finally dismantle. And I'm figuring other southern states had similar. Now here we are with those same states recreating, in effect, the same rigged system. But, yes, agreed: Thank God that BLM has exposed so much and finally more white people are listening, believing.
(Oh, I see you're a retired library science professor. My mother got her MLS here in CT and was a law librarian for many years.)
Hello, Storrs graduate! The County Unit system gave equal weight to rural and urban counties, and thus nullified the advantages of population density, somewhat in the same way that electoral votes do. I think that is why there have been so many calls to abolish the electoral college since the America it was created to serve has long since passed.
Hi! My mom actually went to Southern CT State University (though I think it was still "College" then in the late 70s when she went back to school). Yes, nullifying the sometimes enormous advantages of population density, with the outcome being as or more undemocratic as the electoral system.
I don't know how, but I was not aware of the Dorsey and Malcom executions, although I was a teen during the 1960s. That period of the 1940s must also be a frightening, very heightened memory for many. What strength your family must have developed to continue to live there! How old were you at the time? What was it like to live in that community? Have you written about it?
I was born the same year, 1946. Atlanta was progressive in the fifties and sixties, although old attitudes survived and would not pass muster today. For example, the Civil War centennial was celebrated in 1962, along with a Gone with The Wind twenty-five year anniversary attended by Olivia de Havilland, Vivien Leigh, David Selznick, Ann Rutherford, and Butterfly McQueen. The color line was mostly observed in homes, less so in business and civic affairs. I lived a double life, went to school in Connecticut and learned to mask some of my Georgia traits, but longed to be part of the celebrations. I’m not sure I could do justice to all that was going on simultaneously in the sixties.
I grew up in Philadelphia PA and went to school nearby, seemingly less turbulent territory, and I've also felt I couldn't do justice in writing (or any medium) to all that went on around me.
Those were rich times. Turbulent, but rich!
And now I too know what the County Unit System was - and may well become again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_unit_system?wprov=sfti1
And now I too know what it was - had never heard of it before - thank you, Jim. As with many elections in far too many states (Southern) shameful.
“One person, one vote.” And too possible if Voter Rights are law and enforced. Thank you for the link. Electoral college and this County Unit System are similar and make sure that the “one person one vote” doesn’t happen. Time for a change. Now.
Thank you so much for adding this extra information to the story. And yes, Thank god for the Black Lives Matter Movement.