March supports Quitman 10+2

Edward DuBose, Georgia NAACP President, addresses rally. Photo: Adriane Harden

By Dianne Mathiowetz
Quitman, Ga.

Feb. 25 — Several hundred people marched to the County Courthouse here today in support of the the Quitman 10+2 for a rally addressed by state and local leaders of numerous civil rights, faith and community organizations.

Labeled a blatant example of voter suppression, the speakers demanded that all the charges of voter fraud be dropped against the 11 women and one man who were active in registering voters in the 2010 School Board and County Commission elections in Brooks County.

Making use of early voting and absentee ballots, many people were able to vote, some for the first time. Two Black members were elected to the School Board, and one African American was elected to the County Commission.

Almost immediately, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was directed to look into charges of voter fraud, and ten activists were arrested on Dec. 21, 2010. Two more were charged last November. Then in January, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal suspended all three Black members of the School Board, although no one has been convicted of any wrongdoing.