Bob Barney doesn’t care at all about the statue—until he does. A Canadian transplant to Jessamine, his ancestry traces back to abolitionist New England. But as the 2020 election approaches, Bob sees a political opening. For months prior to the election, he spends three hours a night working through a list of 13,500 Democrats conducting a telephone survey.

The work is arduous and often dispiriting. It takes fifteen phone dials to get one person to talk, and sometimes that person just hangs up or refuses to answer Bob’s questions. Nevertheless, he is able to convince many pro-statue Democrats to switch parties. Confederate controversies cement the Republican takeover of Jessamine.

Timestamps

01:38 David walks two doors down from his house to interview Bob

15:22 Bob describes his telephone survey and how he’s using it to defeat Democratic candidate Carolyn Dupont.

20:45 Pastor Moses responds.

25:03 Carolyn Dupont responds.

31:54 Blue Lives Matter rally at the courthouse

39:00 November 2020

43:52 David reflects on local politics and his relationship with Bob.

Transcript: Visit www.rebelonmain.com/episode6.

Engage

• Check out our website at rebelonmain.com.
• To support future creative projects, contribute here: rebelonmain.com/support
• Email david.swartz@asbury.edu to let me know what you think of this episode of Rebel on Main.

Resources

• For pictures of the Back the Blue rally and video of the scuffle at the courthouse, head to rebelonmain.com/episode6.
• Carolyn Dupont, Mississippi Praying: Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1975

Production team

• Writer and Host: David R. Swartz
• Original Music, Sound Design, and Mixing: Barry Blair
• Story Editor: Stephen Smith
• Artistic Design: Josh Smith and Lisa Weaver Swartz

Next episode: In Episode 7—Change Is Gonna Come—find out what happens after a final push to remove Jessamine County’s Confederate statue.