Before I was born, Black voters were as likely to identify as Democrats as they were Republicans.3 In the South, it was a little different. Like many voters in the South, my mama ’nem identified as Republicans because they said Southern Democrats were kinda racist. And when they said “kinda racist,” you gotta keep in mind that Southern folk think the sun is “kinda hot.” Black folks in the South never say what they mean. Like when a Black woman tells you that she has “a trick for yo’ ass,” she is not about to teach you magic. Your best bet is to disappear like Black folks did from the
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