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Winnersville, U.S.A., otherwise known as Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia, is a great Southern town located just north of the Florida state line. Peppered with giant oaks, cypress swamps, swaying Spanish moss, and stately antebellum homes, Valdosta and Lowndes County embody Southern culture and American pride. Part of our pride also comes from a long legacy of winning sports teams. With that legacy in mind, our community adopted the name Winnersville to demonstrate our belief in hard work, excellence, and teamwork. We were also recently crowned "Title Town U.S.A." by ESPN for our long tradition of championship teams.
At the same time, like most communities in the U.S. ours has an ugly history when
it comes to racial justice and equality. Yet many Valdostans are ignorant of this or
outright deny it. That history has included everything from
Ku Klux Klan activity
and persistant acts of racist terrorism
to decades of exclusion and discrimination. Noting this and the fact that progress has certainly occurred,
Winnersville today remains a highly segregated and unequal community. That segregation and
inequality is evident in Valdosta and Lowndes Counties' neighborhoods. It is present in our schools systems
and our places of worship. Last but not least, it is especially visible in terms of who has real economic power
in the community.
Although the "public" use of racial slurs and blantant, once "legal" forms of racism have certainly
decreased, and though Black and White citizens gather together to cheer on local sports teams, racial inequality and more subtle
forms of racism play out in the culture and institutions of Winnersville everyday.
These range from the use of language like the popular term "plantation"* to name
streets, apartment complexs, subdivisons, and the "Plantation Grill" and "Plantation" golf course at
the Valdosta Country Club to occasional, more
mean spirited acts.
This means, whether intentional or not, that people of color in
Winnersville are constantly reminded about who is "in charge" and who is not.
Along with these daily reminders, racial inequality in Winnerville is also visible on larger "institutional" levels. Those areas include glaring education, economic, and health disparties along with disproportionate numbers of people of color involved in the criminal justice system. Because of these inequalities and "how things are done," while some prosper, significant numbers of people are in fact "losing in Winnersville."
Noting our history and the ongoing inequality in Winnersville, as seen in a troubled city school system, economic and health disparities, and the mass incarceration of Black citizens, this website is dedicated to identifying and exploring where we stand as a community. It is sponsored by the Valdosta/Lowndes Chapter of the Southern Leadership Conference (SCLC) and it is intended to inform not insult. It is also intended to be honest about our past and present in order to create a different, a more just future. It was created because community members are usually met with silence or defensiveness when they ask questions about persistent racial inequalities in Winnersville. When citizens raise questions, they are also typically accused of "creating division," as if none already exists. Lastly, the point of this site is not to blame or "point fingers." It is instead meant to encourage the citizens of Winnersville to come together and live up to that name by making sure that everyone in Valdosta and Lowndes County enjoys equal opportunity and dignity.
As "a work in progress," please know that this site will be changing as more information becomes available and as ongoing research is completed. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the site simply send us an email. So please check back from time to time and thank you for your interest in our community.
*Given the many "crimes against humanity" committed against Black people on plantations, the local romanticized use of this term is highly disturbing. It also reflects a level of ignorance and/or disregard for the many victims of those crimes. As places where people "owned" other people, and often "worked them to death" or "for life," those crimes included "legally" sanctioned rape, murder, torture, dismemberment, along with ongoing psychological, physical, and spiritual brutality.