Doug Jones vs. Roy Moore: How Black People Saved Alabama

When Doug Jones came and spoke to our high school, I had no idea that he would be the senator of Alabama just a few years later.

On Tuesday, December 12^th, for the first time in 25 years, a Democrat was named the Senator-elect for the state of Alabama. In an upset election, Doug Jones, who is a former prosecutor responsible for prosecuting the remaining living Ku Klux Klan members responsible for bombing 16^th Street Baptist Church and killing four little girls in 1963, was able to beat Republican opponent, Roy Moore.

Roy Moore has been accused of homophobia, islamophobia, and molestation of girls as young as fourteen-years-old, to name a few things. He is labeled as a sexual predator. Several hash tags were used to condemn his campaign such as #noMoore and #MeAt14. I know that Alabama is one of the most conservative states, but how could someone with this history even be eligible to represent any state in the Senate? Yet somehow, the race between Roy Moore and Doug Jones was very close, a little too close for comfort in my opinion. It was such a close race that Moore is still not conceding, and requesting a recount. The final percentages were as follows: Jones received 49.92% of the vote, while Moore received 48.38% of the vote.

Voter turnout and voter demographics surprised me in this election. 29% of the people who voted on Tuesday were Black men and women, while 66% of voters were white men and women. 72% of White men voted for Moore, and 63% of White women voted for Moore. I was surprised to see that such a large number of White women, about 2/3 of them, despite numerous claims of molestation, still voted for Moore. Black women and men, on the other hand, denied Moore almost unanimously. Only 2% of Black women voted for Moore, and 6% of Black males voted for Moore. I did not think that Alabama was ready for a Democratic senator, and it looks like White people were not; however, Black people were. Why were they not ready when we were? How can you trust someone that is accused of hurting children? Despite half of the amount of Black voters as compared to White voters voted Tuesday, their voices were heard loud and clear. Black men and women won the election for Doug Jones on Tuesday night. It goes to show what can happen when we stick together and work toward a unified goal.

Naylor, Brian. "'Black Votes Matter': African-Americans Propel Jones To Alabama Win." NPR. December 13, 2017. Accessed December 16, 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/12/13/570531505/black-votes-matter-african-americans-propel-jones-to-alabama-win.

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