As someone who has lived, worked, organized, buried loved ones, served families, and run for office in this district, I have spent years watching communities struggle with questions of representation, economic development, education, healthcare access, and political participation. The observations in this article are not offered as partisan criticism, but as an examination of what political engagement actually looks like on the ground in East Alabama.

A recent Alabama Reflector article covering the Republican primary runoff for House District 37 caused me to revisit some political questions that have remained with me since my own campaign for the seat in 2018.

In 2018, I ran for Alabama House District 37.

I lost.

Badly.

But so did virtually every Democrat running statewide.

President Barack Obama once described a difficult election for his party as a “shellacking.” If there was ever a word that described what happened to Alabama Democrats in 2018, that was it.

Republicans dominated races from the courthouse to the State House. Democratic candidates weren’t simply defeated. They were overwhelmed.

Looking back, however, I believe many people drew the wrong lesson from those results.

The lesson was not that Democrats can never win House District 37.

The lesson was that Democrats have been trying to win the wrong way.

Today, political observers look at House District 37 and see a safe Republican district. After the recent Republican primary produced nearly 8,000 votes, many assume the race is effectively over before the general election begins.

Perhaps.

But perhaps not.

Before anyone declares House District 37 permanently out of reach, they should look more carefully at the numbers.

The district includes portions of Chambers, Randolph, and Cleburne Counties. Within those counties live thousands of Black citizens, thousands of working-class families, thousands of young voters, thousands of non-voters, and thousands of citizens who participate only occasionally in elections.

The question is not whether these citizens exist.

The question is whether anyone is organizing them.

For decades, Democrats have approached rural Alabama elections as persuasion contests. They spend precious resources trying to convince committed Republicans to vote differently.

That strategy has failed.

A better question is this:

What if the largest untapped voting bloc in House District 37 isn’t Republican voters at all?

What if it is people who rarely vote?

What if the future of the district depends not on changing minds, but on changing participation?

Republicans have spent years building a culture of voting. Their voters show up consistently. They vote in primaries, runoffs, municipal elections, special elections, and general elections.

Democrats often appear a few months before Election Day and disappear shortly afterward.

That is not a campaign strategy.

That is a recurring mistake.

Winning House District 37 would require a completely different approach.

First, Democrats would have to stop running national campaigns in local districts.

Most voters in East Alabama are not waking up every morning worried about partisan battles in Washington. They are worried about jobs, healthcare, schools, roads, economic opportunity, and whether their children will have a reason to stay in their hometowns after graduation.

Candidates who spend their time repeating national political talking points are speaking a language many local voters are tired of hearing.

Second, Democrats would need to rebuild relationships with communities they have too often taken for granted.

Churches.

Civic organizations.

Neighborhood associations.

Small business owners.

Educators.

Retirees.

Veterans.

Working families.

Politics in rural Alabama remains personal. People vote for people they know, trust, and see regularly.

Third, Democrats would need to invest in year-round voter registration and turnout efforts.

Not every four years.

Not every two years.

Every year.

The most important voter in House District 37 may not be the Republican who voted in the last election.

It may be the citizen who did not vote at all.

Fourth, Democrats would need to broaden their coalition.

Success would require strong support from Black voters, but that alone would not be enough.

Victory would also require support from independents, moderate conservatives, educators, healthcare workers, young voters, and citizens who simply want effective representation regardless of party label.

Finally, Democrats must recognize an uncomfortable truth.

Many voters in House District 37 may never become Democrats.

And they do not have to.

The objective is not ideological conversion.

The objective is building a coalition around common interests, shared economic concerns, strong schools, safe communities, responsible government, and opportunity for future generations.

That is how durable political movements are built.

Not through slogans.

Not through social media.

Not through wishful thinking.

Through organization.

Through relationships.

Through persistence.

Through turnout.

Can a Democrat win House District 37?

The answer is yes.

But only if Democrats stop fighting the last election and start building for the next decade.

The path is difficult.

The odds are long.

But the mathematics of political participation suggest that the district may be more competitive than conventional wisdom would have us believe.

The question is not whether victory is possible.

The question is whether anyone is willing to do the work required to make it happen.

Author’s Note: This article was inspired by a recent Alabama Reflector report on the House District 37 race and by the author’s experience as a Democratic candidate for the district in 2018. The views expressed are intended to encourage thoughtful discussion about voter participation, community engagement, and political representation in East Alabama.

The Southern Justice Archive
Presented By: Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson aka
Wilkie Clark’s Daughter”

“Documenting what happened, Preserving what matters, Protecting what must endure!

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They happen around kitchen tables.

They happen on front porches.

They happen in barber shops, beauty salons, church parking lots, and occasionally—from the front seat of an SUV.

Such was the case on the evening of June 11, 2026, when Southern Justice Archive contributor and Clark Historic Landmark Site Co-Curator, Wilkie Sherard Frieson, sat down for another installment of his ongoing voter education series and delivered one of his most thought-provoking presentations to date.

Speaking in his familiar conversational style, Sherard examined two highly publicized criminal cases that have generated considerable discussion across social media and within Black communities throughout the nation: the Rick Childs case and the Karmelo Anthony case.

At first glance, the two incidents may appear unrelated to voting rights. One involved criminal justice. The other involved questions of legal accountability and public response. Yet Sherard challenged viewers to look beyond the headlines and ask a deeper question:

Who creates the systems that determine how justice is administered?

That question sits at the heart of this presentation.

Too often, voter education efforts focus exclusively on candidates, political parties, or election dates. Sherard’s workshop takes a different approach. He asks viewers to recognize that every aspect of public life—from policing and prosecution to judicial appointments, legislation, sentencing laws, educational policy, and economic opportunity—is ultimately shaped by elected officials.

The uncomfortable truth is that many of the outcomes we criticize are connected to decisions made by people who were elected to office, often by remarkably small numbers of voters.

When citizens disengage from the political process, they do not simply surrender their vote.

They surrender influence.

They surrender representation.

And ultimately, they surrender power.

That reality carries particular significance within Black communities throughout the South, where generations of men and women sacrificed, organized, registered voters, challenged discriminatory systems, and sometimes risked their lives to secure access to the ballot box.

The Clark Historic Landmark Site preserves the stories of many such individuals, including Wilkie Clark, Jerome A. Gray, Reverend R. L. Heflin, and countless others who understood that voting was never merely a right—it was a tool of self-determination.

Sherard’s presentation serves as a reminder that the threats facing Black communities today may not always look like the threats faced during the Civil Rights Movement. The language has changed. The methods have evolved. But the consequences of political disengagement remain remarkably similar.

When communities fail to vote, others make decisions for them.

When communities fail to organize, others organize against them.

When communities fail to participate, others determine the rules under which they must live.

The lesson embedded within this workshop is both simple and profound:

Voting is not merely about choosing a candidate.

Voting is about deciding who will control the systems that shape our lives.

As the viewership of this presentation continues to grow, its message deserves careful consideration. Whether one agrees with every conclusion or not, Sherard has succeeded in doing what every effective civic educator should strive to do:

He has encouraged people to think.

And in a democracy, thoughtful citizens remain our most valuable resource.

The Southern Justice Archive
Presented By: Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson aka
Wilkie Clark’s Daughter”

“Documenting what happened, Preserving what matters, Protecting what must endure!

This evening, I find myself deeply disturbed by what is unfolding across our nation, our state, and particularly within communities throughout Alabama. As we approach another election cycle — one in which there are few, if any, Democratic candidates seeking certain local offices — many Black voters, who are generally presumed to align with the Democratic Party, are being encouraged to “cross over” and vote on the Republican ticket.

The argument being presented is that, in the absence of Democratic primary contenders, crossover voting at least gives Black voters some influence over who ultimately holds local office. On the surface, some may consider that practical or even reasonable advice. But whenever someone presents that argument to you, I believe you owe it to yourself to look beyond the surface and examine the larger truth.

What I cannot understand is why any Black voter — any Black citizen with even a basic understanding of our history in this country — would willingly support a political movement whose policies and priorities have consistently operated against our collective interests, both historically and in the present day.

We must ask ourselves an honest question:

What has been the real impact of modern Republican politics, Trumpism, and the MAGA movement on Black America?

Anyone willing to assess the situation honestly can see that the current Republican agenda represents a direct threat to Black economic stability, political advancement, educational opportunity, and civil rights protections. Their position has not been hidden. It has been demonstrated repeatedly through policy decisions, court appointments, executive actions, and public rhetoric.

How much clearer must it become?

The recently enacted Republican megabill doubles down on costly tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit wealthy Americans while offering little meaningful relief to low- and moderate-income working families. At the same time, it imposes stricter work-reporting requirements that threaten food assistance and healthcare access for millions of vulnerable citizens — many of whom are Black working-class families already struggling to survive.

Meanwhile, sweeping cuts to the federal workforce have disproportionately harmed Black employees. For generations, federal employment represented one of the few pathways into stable middle-class life for Black Americans, particularly Black women, after the federal workforce was desegregated in 1948. That pathway is now being systematically weakened.

The administration’s aggressive tariff policies have also created economic instability, increased the cost of everyday necessities, and placed additional pressure on small businesses — including Black-owned businesses that often lack the political access and financial insulation necessary to survive prolonged economic uncertainty.

We have also witnessed relentless attacks on healthcare protections and social safety-net programs. Efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act and impose stricter Medicaid requirements disproportionately endanger Black communities that already face longstanding disparities in healthcare access.

And then there is the judiciary.

During Donald Trump’s presidency, an unprecedented number of conservative federal judges were appointed to lifetime positions, including appointments to the United States Supreme Court. Those courts have since weakened key provisions of the Voting Rights Act and dismantled affirmative action in higher education — decisions many civil rights advocates view as devastating setbacks for racial equity and opportunity.

At the same time, the MAGA movement has launched an aggressive campaign against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives while attempting to sanitize or minimize the teaching of Black history, systemic racism, and the enduring realities of discrimination in America.

None of this is accidental.

And let me be perfectly clear:

I do not care who is offended by my position.

In my view, anyone willing to seek public office under the banner of MAGA Republicanism has aligned themselves with a political ideology that has caused measurable harm to Black Americans and to the democratic principles this nation claims to uphold.

Donald Trump, in my opinion, has demonstrated himself to be one of the most morally unfit, divisive, and dangerous political figures in modern American history. That is not hyperbole to me. That is the conclusion I have reached after observing his conduct, rhetoric, leadership, and the movement built around him.

And for me, this conversation is bigger than political party labels.

Before I am anything else politically, I am a proud Black American.

Therefore, I vote according to the interests of Black people:

Black students.

Black workers.

Black women.

Black fathers and mothers.

Black entrepreneurs.

Black voters.

Black economic empowerment.

Black opportunity.

Black dignity.

And if you are Black in America, I believe you should think very carefully before lending your support to political forces that have repeatedly demonstrated indifference — and at times outright hostility — toward those interests.

After examining this issue from every possible angle, I have reached a very simple conclusion:

I DO NOT HAVE A DOG IN THAT FIGHT!

Let them battle among themselves.

Because from where I stand, regardless of which faction prevails, Black communities too often remain politically marginalized, economically strained, and strategically used when convenient.

And I refuse to stand in line and knowingly support an agenda that I believe works against the interests of my people.

That is my position.

And that is the truth as I see it

The Southern Justice Archive
Presented By: Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson aka
Wilkie Clark’s Daughter”

“Documenting what happened, Preserving what matters, Protecting what must endure!

.