why is there a blue line in the center of alabama that extends into eastern missippi? that one has me stumped.
The blue in Alabama is the "black belt", an extremely poor section of the state.
That is a band of low income counties with high proportions of black voters. Artur Davis is their congress critter.
I have exactly the same question. That blue belt is weird for Alabama. Maybe Montgomery & suburbs?
Good question- in terms of topography there is a large valley that runs across the state where those blue counties are.
why is there a blue line in the center of alabama that extends into eastern missippi? that one has me stumped.
What is the Delta?
The word "delta" in the region of the Mississippi River has come to represent many different ideas. According to the Lower Mississippi Delta Region Initiatives it includes a total of 308 counties and parishes in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee as well as the entire states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In natural resource terms, the Mississippi Delta is the alluvial valley stretching from southern Illinois to central Louisiana at the junction of the Red, Atchafalaya, and Mississippi Rivers. Geologically, this was a deep valley eroded by the Mississippi during the Pleistocene Era when the sea level was 200 feet below its present stand.
Poverty Tightens Grip On Mississippi Delta
Number of Young Rural Poor Rises, Study Says
By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 17, 2004; Page A03
COAHOMA, Miss. -- The abandoned shells of buildings along the main drag here serve as a glum backdrop for the youngsters who sit in front of them for hours, idly chatting and staring into the occasional passing car. A liquor store and convenience store are the only places to shop. The little work available is seasonal or at casinos 25 miles away.
Poverty, like an annoying out-of-town cousin, has settled into this Mississippi Delta town for an extended stay. Fifty-five percent of households in this community of 350 take in less than $15,000 a year, well below the federal poverty line of $18,850 for a family of four. The last of the town's shacks, which lacked toilets and insulation, were retired only in the last decade, after Habitat for Humanity made destroying them a priority.
Leroy Bush has lived here all his life, picking cotton and working odd jobs to make ends meet. A decade ago, he became a homeowner in exchange for 500 hours' worth of "sweat equity" and a promise to pay $100 a month on an interest-free mortgage that covers the cost of the land, insurance and materials. The labor was free.
"Everybody here is just trying to make it," said Bush, 55, who works with his wife, Clarethea, at a nearby casino. "We do the best we can."
EXCERPTED...
http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/alabama/demographics/BlackPopulation.jpg
I was asking my husband about that last night. He said he thinks it is the poorer areas of those states, they have historically voted Dem, and the school system is probably one of the largest employers in those areas.
That's the Mississippi River.
The blue line in the center of Alabama is mainly due to some very LIBERAL rags there. I am from there, and the newspapers there are pretty outrageous. Also, this line covers the state capital.
