The Burden of Power

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...

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