Did Roy Moore lose to #blackgirlmagic?
After a dramatic campaign, Doug Jones became Alabama’s first Democratic senator in 25 years.
The widely watched race pitted Jones against Republican candidate Roy Moore whose campaign faltered under charges of sexual misconduct with minors.
Despite gaining an endorsement from President Trump, Moore failed to win the majority vote in the overwhelmingly White, Republican state. Exit polls suggested the reason has a lot to do with Black voters in a swath of the state identified as the “Black Belt.”
In a preliminary exit poll conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool, The Washington Post and other media organizations, Black women represent only 17 percent of voters in the state but 98 percent of them voted for Jones. Black men account for 11 percent of voters and 93 percent of them voted for Jones.
Among White voters, 35 percent of White women and 27 percent of White men voted for Jones.
The poll results led to a social media meme-fest thanking black women for delivering the election to Jones.
Black women deserve praise in election. No need to convince us how to vote - especially if morality, ethics, and law is involved. We know what's good. #AlabamaSenateElection #AlabamaSenate #BlackWomen pic.twitter.com/fdLh55RzJp
— Bee Kay (@beingbeekay) December 13, 2017
Just to be crystal clear, this was no miracle, this was black voters showing up strong and saving us all. Thank you! #AlabamaSenate #dougjones
— Andrew George (@GEORGE3Q) December 13, 2017
🖤 #AlabamaSenate— Iliza Shlesinger (@iliza) December 13, 2017Once again, thank you to the black women for doing the silent heavy lifting on this one.
👊 (@ProudResister) December 13, 201794% of black women voted against Trump
— PROUD RESISTER
98% of black women voted against Moore#BlackWomen are WOKE. Now the rest of America needs to wake up and follow their lead.
But not everyone was on the #blackgirlmagic bandwagon.
Sad to see so many black men sounding like #AllLivesMatter on here today. Yes, black men in AL turned out too. Yes, the entire Black community did well. But today we’re centering #BlackWomen and that’s okay.
— Allahandro D. Bradford (@AllahandroD) December 13, 2017
Our light doesn’t dim when they shine.
For all of the white men coming in hot on my threads demanding we thank everyone instead of focusing on #BlackWomen for their hard work in Alabama, today is not your day.
— Girls Really Rule. (@girlsreallyrule) December 13, 2017
Sit down for a few minutes, it's someone else's turn.
Thank you.
It wasn’t long ago that Atlanta’s Mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms declared victory in part thanks to black girl magic.
“For all the little girls out there, who need somebody to believe that you are better than your circumstances, I️ want you all to remember that black girl magic is real…” said Lance Bottoms addressing a crowd of supporters.
Lance Bottoms was the only black woman on the ballot for mayor and she earned the highest number of votes in the general election.
Despite low voter turnout, Lance Bottoms won the runoff by a slim 759 votes. Her opponent, Mary Norwood requested a recount. The recount takes place on Dec. 14, but experts have said the results are unlikely to change the outcome of the election.
About the Author
Nedra Rhone is a lifestyle columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where she has been a reporter since 2006. A graduate of Columbia University School of Journalism, she enjoys writing about the people, places and events that define metro Atlanta. Sign up to have her column sent to your inbox: ajc.com/newsletters/nedra-rhone-columnist.
