For someone who has spent her entire life in Northern cities, my perception of life in the South has been largely shaped by the media – images of MAGA hats everywhere and headlines of Southern governors like Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Greg Abbott (R-TX) banning books and changing the way Black history is taught in schools.
But with his 2021 book, “The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto,” New York Times columnist and author Charles Blow put something on my mind.
In the book, Blow suggests that by moving to the South en masse, Blacks could harness political power in places where we already make up a majority of the population and impact real change in our community. And he’s not just talking about it: After 25 years in New York City, Blow relocated his family to Georgia, where he lives today.
With his new documentary “South to Black Power,” (premiering Nov. 28 on HBO and streaming on MAX), Blow is taking his theory on the road, speaking with Black Americans across the country about how a reverse Great Migration could change the political landscape.
Along the way, Blow speaks with Jackson, Miss. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, former New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet and Chicago-based community activist Asiaha Butler, along with friends, family members and others to get their varied perspectives on his idea.
I caught up with Blow to talk about “South to Black Power” and why Black folks should consider the idea of a reverse Great Migration.
Black Power Isn’t What You Think
If you’re not Black, the idea of Black power is probably scary. But Blow says he’s more focused on having a say in how we’re governed than taking power away from anyone else. He’s tired of waiting for others to address our community’s concerns and he hopes other Black people are motivated to use their vote to find solutions on their own.
“Black power in this context is political strength,” he said. “It’s not what people think about when they talk about white power, which is very often a way of creating a hierarchy of humanity where white people are higher on the pecking order, and other people are oppressed.”
Holding on to Hope Isn’t the Same as Real Political Power
Through his travels, Blow found the idea of wielding real political power resonated in particular with young people who aren’t motivated by the messages of hope and fear we’ve heard for decades. He cited Georgia, which elected its first Black and Jewish senators in 2020, as an example of a Southern city that got a taste of what that real political power feels like.
“For Black people, the message was either be afraid and vote this particular way, feel guilty because your parents and grandparents suffered so you could get the vote, or depend on hope,” he said. “Hope is a great religious tool. But politically, it has limited utility. Because if you have power, you wouldn’t need hope.”
Blow added that the concept can be harder to grasp in places like Mississippi, where Blacks represent over 30 percent of the population but haven’t achieved the same political success.
“[Mississippi has] done such an effective job of imposing white supremacy and oppressing Black people for so long that it kind of dims the vision,” he said.
The Idea May Not Be For Everyone
Don’t get it twisted: Blow knows that not everyone is down with the idea of giving up their Brooklyn brownstone or Chicago high rise with the lake view for life in the South. But Blow challenges people to consider if they are truly getting what they need – culturally or otherwise – in Northern cities.
“The test is always for the individual. If you feel like your culture is embraced and your work life is blossoming, maybe you have found your forever home,” he said.
Raising children in New York opened Blow’s eyes to the reality that being liberal and believing in racial egalitarianism don’t always go hand in hand.
“It was very difficult to live in New York at the height of stop-and-frisk when a majority of New Yorkers understood what was happening to these young Black boys and still supported the policy,” he said. “For me, it made a mockery of liberalism as a full encompassing liberalism that included my full humanity and that of my family.”
But Real Power is at the State Level
When we’re faced with issues like inadequate health care and overcrowded schools, it’s easy to point the finger directly at Washington D.C. But Blow reminds us that most of the policy issues that are top of mind in the Black community — including criminal justice, health and education — are controlled at the state level, making it more important than ever to exercise our local influence where we can.
“Very few people are going to deal with a federal statute. But a lot of us are going to go down to the courthouse to fight that ticket. And that’s state policy,” he said. “We just haven’t even been in that conversation because we have none of that control. And we can have it because we did have it. The only reason that Black people lost their majority in some states and their near majorities in others was because of racial terror. And you can’t let the terrorists win.”
Opportunities for Wealth Building Exist
If the idea of political power isn’t enough to make you consider a move below the Mason Dixon line, Blow suggests looking at the economic potential. He cited gentrification as a growing reality that often displaces people of color and prevents them from creating generational wealth through real estate.
“Depending on the industry, the South is where the Black middle class is booming,” he said. “And part of that is because there’s another great migration happening with urbanization primarily led by young college educated white kids deciding to reverse the decisions that their parents and grandparents made to move out of the burbs and back into cities.”
“It prevents more Black people from buying in those cities, and homeownership is how most Americans get a foothold into building intergenerational wealth. And so what we see in Southern cities is that that barrier is lower, and people actually buy real estate and start building wealth.”
There’s Safety in the South
The ideas of economic security and political power were already enough to get me thinking about packing my bags. But as a mother of a young Black boy, it really hit home when Blow told me that the South is where he feels safest.
“Living in Atlanta is the safest I’ve ever felt around the police,” he said. “I lived in New York for 25 years, and I always felt like they were preying, always looking for a reason to stop and engage. Stop and frisk started in New York and exported to Chicago and L.A.”
“The destination cities invented this aggressive militarized policing, and they used it against their Black citizens. When I encountered police [in New York], my immediate reaction was to tense up. But I feel different as I travel across the South.”
Though he knows he may not see real change in his lifetime, Blow said his mission is to leave things a little better for future generations.
“As a person with children, I want to leave the world in a better position,” he said. “I don’t want them to have to fight the same battles. And I know that state power is a footstool to getting out of that.”