If THIS isn't America I don't know what is.

[kpete]

A former Alabama sharecropper in an SUV spent more than 10 hours driving registered voters to polling stations for Doug Jones who didn’t have transportation or couldn’t make the trip without help


If you live in Lowndes County and are of voting age, it's a safe bet that Perman Hardy has spoken with you about voting at some point in the past 25 years.



As one of the thousands of sharecroppers who worked white men's land in Lowndes County over the years, 59-year-old Hardy recalls picking cotton after school growing up. She eventually finished her education, bought her own home, and had a successful career as a home health nurse.

But for the past two-and-a-half decades, Hardy has dedicated much of her free time to another pursuit: trying to ensure that every single person in Lowndes County shows up to the polls for every election in Alabama. A native of the unincorporated community of Collirene, she has done about as much as one person possibly could to boost turnout in the impoverished, majority-black county with a population of just 10,458 people.

"That's my goal is to make sure everyone votes. That's always been my goal. This is what I do every election," she said as she steered her forest-green Chevrolet Tahoe through Collirene, a rural area that was once home to several cotton plantations that employed generations of slaves and sharecroppers.

"We're in an epidemic poverty county so it's so important for us to vote today," she told AL.com. "I took some people today who've never cast a ballot before."

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/12/how_a_former_sharecropper_in_a.html

MORE:

Link to tweet

kp:
next year, this California girl & posse will head to Arizona - inspired by people in Alabama like Perman Hardy.
We have much work to do.

[dalton99a]

1. A great example to all Democrats

GOTV!

[safeinOhio]

2. Help make every state a

Right-to-Vote State.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

3. And it's shameful. People should be able to walk a reasonable distance to

their polling places. Like some of us "lucky ones" get to do. Not to mention getting the day off. Or a half day at the very least.

[Farmer-Rick]

6. Our voting system is a sham

Why do you have to register at all? Why do I get challenged everytime I show my military ID when I vote? Why do I have to take off work to vote? Why is early voting end 5 days before the regular date. Why do I have to hunt down local voting info on line that is frequently contradictory. Why is my district a weird snake shape running along the edge of the mountains?

Why are there NO records of our vote. Why do I have to use the most unreliable machines in the world to vote?

Why do Putin and Trump think I'm stupid?

[The Polack MSgt]

16. Every layer of difficulty tehy can add

strips progressively more voters out of the process.

As a rule people in power hate democracy .

BTW a belated welcome to DU to you.

[Farmer-Rick]

25. Thanks for the welcome

Good point about stripping out layers of voters. No wonder so few make it all the way through the maze.

[onetexan]

24. great questions

[roscoeroscoe]

4. My hero!

Very inspiring bro!

[Lonestarblue]

5. We need new voting laws.

While states should continue to manage elections, we need federal law that sets the standards for voting, and that should include a federal holiday for election day. Other standards should include early voting and being able to vote at any polling place in a county (especially helpful for large counties where people may work at some distance from their homes). I’m in a large county in Texas and can choose where I vote if I haven’t already voted in the early voting phase. During early voting, you can vote at grocery stores and other places that voters regularly visit. And finally, people ahould be registered when they get a driver’s license or renew one. Here in Texas, some might be concerned about illegals being registered, but states could isuue a voting or nonvoting license. Other rules should focus on when a person can be removed from voting rolls. If we leave all this to Republicans, they will manage to restrict voting rights even more than they already have.

[SCantiGOP]

10. Strongly agree

There should be national standards for elections, including regulation of the primaries. No way we should let Iowa, New Hampshire and SC basically choose the two candidates.

[calimary]

18. So do I. Especially the part about not letting Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina

make our candidate decisions for the rest of us.

[SCantiGOP]

7. My first election

In 1972 I spent 14 hours driving people to the polls. Got home to watch the returns and found out they had already called the election for Nixon.

[world wide wally]

8. IF (when) we get the power back, we have to implement federal voting standards.

If states want to add more, they can, but they cannot inhibit any citizens right to vote.

[sarge43]

9. Thank you, ma'am

[Scarsdale]

29. Yes, indeed.

Thank you, Ms. Hardy for your service to voters. I read that on some Indian reservations the people need to drive 100 miles round trip in order to vote. How many do not have cars, I wonder?

[Nitram]

11. I love this. Thank you, ma'am!

[Wounded Bear]

12. A true American hero...

[democrank]

13. Perman Hardy sets a wonderful example for the rest of us.

Bless her heart~

[Politicub]

14. She is my hero!

[barbtries]

15. this made me cry.

her dedication.

[PatrickforO]

17. May she be blessed.

Great lady.

[snacker]

19. Pure gold.

This a wonderful and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing it.

[Honeycombe8]

20. Bless her heart and determination!!!! Black women ROCK...

Black women have been consistently undervalued in our society, and yet they have a unique drive & perspective on things. Many have experienced the worst of the worst and are compelled to action.

Bless this woman! I'm ashamed to say it may not have occurred to me. But it's something to think about for the future.

[geardaddy]

21. She's awesome!

[Elwood P Dowd]

22. That woman deserves a medal. (nm)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

23. Hang up and drive. NT

[SunSeeker]

26. Thank you, Perman Hardy, for serving your country!

[sprinkleeninow]

27. Angels in Heaven are weaving her crown.👑

[BlancheSplanchnik]

28. Wow! Thats inspiring 👏🏾❤️ n/t

[iluvtennis]

30. Thanks for posting this, so, so inspiring what Miss Perman did. (kp: keep us posted on your Arizona

trip next year)

[kpete]

36. I certainly will

I will being going with a great group of friends,
kp

[dchill]

31. K&R.

[Bucky]

32. What an awesome success story

[oasis]

33. K and R

[SergeStorms]

34. What a wonderful woman.

People like her make my heart sing. Black women put Jones over the top in Alabama, and a lady like this deserves much of the credit. She's been GOTV for years, and her persistence has paid off. One person can make a difference!

[pansypoo53219]

35. yes she can. just give them a candidate.

[Rene]

38. Love you Perman !!!