The Burden of Power

By Emma Gresham

The white citizens of Keysville, Ga. (pop. 430, 70% black), did not seem to care that the local government had been dormant since the 1933 election, leaving the hamlet with no police or fire protection and no water or sewer lines. But after discovering that Keysville was still a legally incorporated entity, retired schoolteacher Emma Gresham, 64, decided to run for mayor to bring progress to the sleepy Georgia town. Local whites, fearing that black control might result in higher taxes, went to court to block the election, but Gresham prevailed. Now in her second one-year term, Gresham has embarked on such civic projects as installing streetlights and a beautification campaign.

"The civil rights movement never did really come to Keysville, and I'll admit that I was one of those who never really thought we needed it. Things were fine -- until we started trying to get something. There had been no problems because no one had ever rocked the boat. I kept reading these newspaper stories about Keysville blacks seeking political power. Then it hit me: power! The whites thought we were looking for power. I was looking for a better life. I had never even thought about what we were doing in terms of trying to get power.

I think whites feel threatened. It takes close contact and a lot of communication to get across the message that you have nothing to fear from the next person. We have had to prove to whites that we are not going to have power and leave them out. The burden is on us to make the effort to include them. That approach has done more for race relations in this town than anything else. I very much do not want to be guilty of some of the things they were guilty of. I have more close white friends today than I had five years ago because of my work here. There are white women and white men who are willing now to speak out against injustices. I'm optimistic because we've made so many gains. Look at how far we have come."