Lowndes County Election Aftermath

As a follow-up to the Nov. 8 elections in Alabama, and as a result of black people voting in those elections for the first time in their lives, the white landowners are retaliating by evicting large numbers of black farm workers from their land.

In Greene County, the Greene County Freedom Organization reports that there have been a series of evictions, resulting in 70 families being evicted from the land which has been their home for years.

In Lowndes County, several families have been evicted from their homes and are now living in tents. Many more families expect eviction notices after the picking season is over.

The Lowndes County Christian Movement in conjunction with the Lowndes County Freedom Party is now in the process of purchasing land and building houses for these people. The movement so far has two houses, has bought land for two families and has begun construction on two houses.

Besides the eviction, there have been brutal attacks by Lowndes County whites on black people who participated in the November 8^th elections. One of the worst cases was the beating of Andrew Jones who was hospitalized with a skull fracture in Selma.

The Lowndes County Freedom Party is moving in the direction whereby they can gain complete control over the county in the next two years and are also moving to an economic position where they will be able to take care of people who work in the movement. Present plans include raising money to buy enough land for the dispossessed and starting a co-op which they hope will be operating in the near future.