campaign stops:

                                                                                 Alabama:  Montgomery, Selma, Demopolis, Boligee Eutaw

                                                                               Mississippi: Meridian, Forest, Morton, Jackson, Vicksburg

                                           Louisiana: Tallulah, Monroe, Minden

                                                                                  Texas: Marshall, Longview, Carthage, Nacogdoches, Lufkin, Livingston

Black Belt Tour / Winter 2004 - 2005

The Black Belt Region of the Southern United States includes some of the poorest counties in the country.  The name referred originally to the thin layer of exceptionally fertile black soil which encouraged cotton farming.  However, cotton is no longer "king" here.  And according to the internet's Wikipedia Encyclopedia:  "The name may just as well now refer to the exceptionally high proportion of African American residents in these counties."

•      In Selma, Alabama (a flashpoint for the Civil Rights Movement), I told the newspaper here that the courage demonstrated by the marchers on "Bloody Sunday," including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., should not only never be forgotten, but Americans should continue to be inspired to keep fighting battles for equal rights, peace and social justice.  --Joe
•      I told Montgomery, Alabama reporter Erica Pippins that we still had "slavery" in this country.  That is, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites... are still 'slaves' to rural and inner city poverty loops. --Joe
•      In Green County, Alabama, the poorest county in the country, we saw small town downtowns reduced to virtual rubble.  Boligee's Gary Burton, 41, told me he was one of the lucky ones here.  He said he works at a small cedar mill for "pretty good money" -- $7 an hour. --Joe