Please help me, interested in positive customer patronage of AL

[NuttyFluffers]

i looked at this map and it looks like there's more purple, and surprisingly blue!, counties in your state than i would have imagined.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

now even though i may be working on boycotts, i want also to work on patronage. i see that there's much potential in some counties in AL. but i, being an outsider, am at a loss for local information. this is where you come in.

1. what are the names, resources, needs of these counties?

2. anyone know any progressive companies in these counties that do mail-order business?

it would really help me -- i'm thinking of promoting these businesses amongst us to improve their strength. i want to know some good companies we can spend our dollar on.

Help me, a californian, help you, alabamans, to help ourselves. we are one people now, even if we be blue like smurfs.

ps: forgive the cut n' paste, but it saves time and i want to get this out fast among people who know their state well.

[BamaBecky]

1. the link didn't work for me

However I do think I have looked at the county by county map of the US that you may be speaking about. The blue counties appear to be in the Black Belt region of the state. Black dirt, farming region, very poor, and no doubt heavily populated with minorities. Demopolis, Greensboro, Selma -

The old southern plantations use to populate these "Black rich dirt" cotton farming areas. So lots of minorities still live in these regions. Mostly the area is growing catfish now. The whites in this state vote Republican, the Blacks vote Democrat. My husband teases me all the time about this.

I not very well connected, but perhaps I could help you dig up the information that you are looking for. My own county for example, the party is headed by an old long time democratic lawyer who failed to respond to a "letter to the editor" that I left at his office. We suspect that he is a closet Republican. And that's what you are going to find in these counties - I suspect.

I am a white lady working in the school system. And I have white friends who are democrats, but not very many. This is the heart of the Bible Belt also.

[NuttyFluffers]

2. well, your help would be appreciated.

if you work in the school system though i think you must be excellent doing research and organizing data.

maybe a little studying about these counties and looking at the business directories might help us. it's a mammoth project i'm planning, but i would be deeply indebted to everyone who could help us.

mind if i delegate you to get us the names/websites of some good businesses from these poor communities? :D

[BamaGirl]

3. I'll have to track some ppl down and do some research.

I'm South of this area, and yes, like the other poster said, Dems tend to be the black voters in Bama and Reps the white voters. You might want to contact the ppl at aladem.org for better info on those counties. Sorry, I probably won't be much help. I'll get back in a couple of days.

[giasangria]

4. books from alabama progressive

I know someone locally who has a bookstore, he also sells a lot on ebay... jhsbooks is the name on ebay. I dont know any other businesses but I will let you know if I find them.