The Racist History of Georgia’s Runoff

Segregationists gamed the system 57 years ago. But this year, Black organizers may have finally slipped the knot that Jim Crow tied around democracy in the state.

Ari Berman, senior reporter at Mother Jones and author of “Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America” (2016), joins us to explain the history of runoff elections in Georgia -- and to talk about what might have changed in 2020. We also talk to Nsé Ufot, the CEO of The New Georgia Project, about the organization’s work to get out the vote on the ground right now.

COMPANION LISTENING:

“They’ve Never Wanted You to Vote” (10/26/2020)

Historian Carol Anderson walks Kai through the history of voter suppression since the Voting Rights Act. 

“A Historian’s Guide to the 2020 Election” (9/28/2020)

Eric Foner explains the Reconstruction amendments to our Constitution--and why we don’t actually have an affirmative right to vote, among other oddities.

“The Right Kind of Woman” (10/31/2018)

Kai drops in on Stacey Abrams’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign and talks with her about her strategy for turning Georgia purple. 

“The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC.

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.