Black rural voters could be key to Democrats eyeing Georgia

Sitting on the wooden pews of a small white brick church on a hot Wednesday afternoon in Georgia's Gnat Line, a group of residents gathered to chat about the upcoming governor's race and the issues concerning them in their community, from economic development to health care to infrastructure.

A particular topic of interest was a strategy for voter turnout — and how to fight the barriers to it — in what could be a pivotal midterm election.

"We've got to get out to the nursing homes, tell the DJ if that's what we've got to do to get to the young folks," said Houston County NAACP Vice President Jonathan Johnson, thinking aloud as the audience nodded in agreement. "We could start a cookout . If we could do that as a community, we could make a big difference in this election."

A bus carrying members of Black Voters Matter departs for a tour of rural Georgia after a brief sendoff rally Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Stockbridge, Ga. The tour was reaching out to black and woman voters in rural Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. The Black Belt’s overlap with Trump Country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor’s mansion in Florida and Senate in Mississippi.(AP PhotoJohn Bazemore)

These were not the rural voters who have gotten so much attention after helping elect President Donald Trump in 2016. They are the black rural voters living in red states. They're staunchly Democratic even as they're surrounded by white voters who are almost all Republicans. And they're often overlooked by big-name candidates from both parties.

"There's a narrative that is out in the world right now around what rural America looks like, and it completely erases the existence of black rural folks," said Tamika Middleton, organizing director for Care in Action, a domestic workers advocacy group, in attendance at the church gathering. "We exist. There's never been black folks who were not fighting and resisting in the rural South."

The Black Belt's overlap with Trump country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor's mansion in Florida and the Senate in Mississippi. That raises the possibility that black rural voters will have an unusual opportunity to make an impact on statewide races.

Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown, right, gets a hug from a well wisher before departing on The South Rising Tour 2018 on Aug. 22, 2018, in Stockbridge, Ga. The tour was reaching out to black and woman voters in rural Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. The Black Belt’s overlap with Trump Country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor’s mansion in Florida and Senate in Mississippi. (AP PhotoJohn Bazemore)

But it's Georgia where black rural voters could be especially important as Stacey Abrams campaigns to become the nation's first black female governor. A Mississippi native who moved to Georgia as a child, Abrams is the first Democrat in years to have a real chance of winning the governor's race. And from the beginning, when she launched her campaign in south Georgia's Dougherty County, she's made outreach to rural voters a key part of her strategy.

"Since the beginning of the campaign, Stacey Abrams has been focused on reaching out to a broad coalition of voters in every part of the state, including rural communities of color who have been left behind for too long," said Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams' campaign manager.

Statewide, a third of rural Georgians are people of color, and Abrams has been making her case to black rural voters in churches like the one in Warner Robins. In recent months, she has spent time in towns like Riceboro, Americus, Thomasville, Fort Valley and Cordele — far from the usual Democratic campaign stops like Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and Albany.

A woman listens to Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown speak at a church as part of The South Rising Tour 2018 Aug. 22, 2018, in Warner Robins, Ga. The tour was reaching out to black and woman voters in rural Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. The Black Belt’s overlap with Trump Country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor’s mansion in Florida and Senate in Mississippi. (AP PhotoJohn Bazemore)

During the primary, Abrams' efforts paid off in places like predominantly black Washington County, where she campaigned in May. Turnout there nearly doubled from four years earlier, with Abrams getting 69 percent of the vote this spring, according to turnout data from the Georgia secretary of state.

Rural blacks' priorities often differ from those of their urban counterparts. Many suffer from health disparities, including obesity, maternal mortality, diabetes and sickle cell, living in regions with few hospitals, governed by state officials who have rejected the expansion of Medicare that would help them afford treatment. The Black Belt was historically an agricultural region that remains starved for economic development, and the class and power divide that began during slavery still persists along racial lines in many communities.

While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 politically changed the region with the onslaught of black public elected officials, another result was voter suppression, said Georgia State University historian Maurice Hobson.

A man prays Black Voters Matter's The South Rising Tour 2018 on Aug. 22, 2018, in Warner Robins, Ga. The tour was reaching out to black and woman voters in rural Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. The Black Belt’s overlap with Trump Country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor’s mansion in Florida and Senate in Mississippi. (AP PhotoJohn Bazemore)

"It's a black population that has been so mistreated and so marginalized by the political system that many people are like, 'My vote doesn't count anyway,'" Hobson said. "There is a sense of hopelessness."

That dynamic has paralyzed some blacks in the South, but this fall's midterms could signal a shift among those voters and a way forward for Democrats seeking their votes.

"Our people have voted year after year after year, and they have not seen their lives change," said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, which is touring the black South to register and turn out voters this cycle, told the crowd in Warner Robins. "We got a black woman that is the Democratic nominee at the top of the ticket in a state where we couldn't even vote . Y'all are standing on land where our people died as slaves . We gotta remember that."

A man listens as Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown speaks at a church as part of The South Rising Tour 2018 on Aug. 22, 2018, in Warner Robins, Ga. The tour was reaching out to black and woman voters in rural Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. The Black Belt’s overlap with Trump Country could factor into the elections across the South next month, including competitive races for the governor’s mansion in Florida and Senate in Mississippi. (AP PhotoJohn Bazemore)

Kattie Kendrick, former Peach County Democratic Party chairwoman, who was on a recent tour stop in Fort Valley, Georgia, said that mobilizing voters in her part of the state has been challenging but that outside interest could help to energize them.

"We do not necessarily unite, but when other people know that the black people in Peach County and throughout rural Georgia matter, that makes a difference," Kendrick said.

Down the road in Terrell County, the Rev. Ezekiel Holley plotted how to get nearly 1,000 of his neighbors who typically vote in presidential elections to show up for the midterms. Nicknamed "Terrible Terrell," three churches in the county were burned in the 1950s to keep blacks from voting. Today, Holley said, the problem is apathy and frustration with elected officials who forget they can't see a doctor or need their roads paved.

"Most of our citizens feel that people we have elected have let us down," he explained. "They get elected and forget about who elected them and their platform. So why should I keep on voting for you?"

"The majority of the national politicians feel that ... they don't have to worry about little rural places. Most folks are concentrating on metro Atlanta more than the rest of Georgia. Hopefully they're getting the picture now," Holley said.

Holley went to see Abrams speak at a campaign event earlier this month with former President Jimmy Carter in his hometown of Plains. The pair talked about Medicaid expansion, which Holley believes will bring jobs, better health conditions and industry into the state. That she announced her plans there said to him that she cares about his corner of the state.

It's a message Holley plans to take to the registered voters he hopes to help turn out in Terrell County in the coming few weeks, but he's still not sure whether they will show up.

"I can't give a good answer on that yet," he said. "People are excited, but Nov. 6 is going to tell the story."

Whack is The Associated Press' national writer on race and ethnicity. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous.

HAVANA (AP) — Trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport Thursday as white-gloved Cuban soldiers marched out of a plane carrying urns with remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela.

Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and placed the urns on a long table next to the pictures of those killed. Tens of thousands of people paid their respects, saluting the urns or holding their hand over their heart, many of them drenched from standing outside in a heavy downpour.

Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized over the past half-century.

The soldiers were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the Jan. 3 raid on his residence to seize the former leader and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

State television also showed images of what it said were more than a dozen wounded combatants from the raid, accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez after arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. A man identified in state media as Col. Pedro Yadín Domínguez attended Thursday's ceremony in a wheelchair.

He said it was a “disproportionate attack” that killed 11 colleagues around him as they slept. Yadín said he was committed to doing “whatever it takes to defend this people and to remain united in the face of threats from the United States.”

Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. have spiked, with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.

Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.

Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas called the slain soldiers “heroes” of an anti-imperialist struggle spanning both Cuba and Venezuela. In an apparent reference to the U.S., he said the “enemy” speaks of “high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy.

“We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother,” Álvarez said.

The events demonstrate that “imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.

Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, was among the thousands of Cubans who lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.

“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” Gómez said. “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”

The 32 military personnel ranged in age from 26 to 60 and were part of protection agreements between the two countries.

Officials in Cuba have said they expect a massive demonstration Friday across from the U.S. Embassy to protest the deaths.

“People are upset and hurt ... many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.

In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.

In December 1989, officials organized a ceremony to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in a war that defeated the South African army.

In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.

The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived for four years in Venezuela.

“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”

The remains arrived a day after the U.S. announced $3 million in additional aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa. The first flight took off on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.

Cuba had said on Wednesday that any contributions will be channeled through the government.

But U.S. State Department foreign assistance official Jeremy Lewin said Thursday that the U.S. was working with Cuba’s Catholic Church to distribute aid, as part of Washington's efforts to give assistance directly to the Cuban people.

“There’s nothing political about cans of tuna and rice and beans and pasta,” he said Thursday, warning that the Cuban government should not intervene or divert supplies. “We will be watching, and we will hold them accountable.”

Lewin said the Cuban government has a choice to: “Step down or better provide towards people.” Lewin added that “if there was no regime,” the U.S. would provide “billions and billions of dollars” in assistance, as well as investment and development: “That’s what lies on the other side of the regime for the Cuban people.”

Rodríguez, the Cuban foreign minister, said the U.S. government was “exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes.”

Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

People line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the remains are on display of the Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, as it sprinkles rain in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Military members line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, are on display in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Military members pay their last respects to Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains are displayed during a ceremony in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Soldiers carry urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Adalberto Roque /Pool Photo via AP)

A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People line the streets of Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, to watch the motorcade carrying urns containing the remains of Cuban officers killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)