Cyclist discovers voices of hope and fear on a 700-mile ride through the Gulf South

July 4, 2024

In this election year, America seems restless, divided and sometimes sullen. So reporter John Burnett set out on his bicycle with an audio recorder to find out how people in the Gulf South are feeling.

From St. Augustine, Florida, to New Orleans, he asked the people he met along the way a simple question: “What are you worried about?”

These are shortened excerpts from his interviews for reasons of space.

Lakesha Hills in Florahome, Florida.

Lakesha Hills is a 40-year-old correctional officer at a Florida state prison. She has three children - ages 13, 11 and six months - and lives in her hometown of Florahome, population 1,471.<br />” srcset=”https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4491181/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032×3024+0+0/resize/1760×1320!/quality/90/?url=https%3A% 2F%2Fnpr.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdims3%2Fdefau lt%2Fstrip%2Ffalse%2Fcrop%2F4032x3024%200%200%2Fresize%2F4032x3024%21%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F0e%2F367a33384ae39414777c219f79e0%2Flakesha-hills. jpg 2x” width=”880″ height=”660″ loading=”lazy” src=”https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ccbcfc8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032×3024+0+0/resize/880×660!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F %2Fnpr.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdims3%2Fdefault%2 Fstrip%2Ffalse%2Fcrop%2F4032x3024%200%200%2Fresize%2F4032x3024%21%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2F0e%2F367a33384ae39414777c219f79e0%2Flakesha-hills.jpg” /></p>
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<div class= — Lakesha Hills is a 40-year-old correctional officer at a Florida state prison. She has three children – ages 13, 11 and six months – and lives in her hometown of Florahome, population 1,471.

“(I want) peace and security for my children and for them to remain children. I want them to keep that innocence as long as they can.”

“Florahome is a good place to start a family. I’ve been here all my life. We still open the doors to women and the elderly. We move to the side of the road and let the drivers pass.”

“We are still holding on to what we lost years ago when television was turned off. Remember when at 11 o’clock the television was turned off and the national anthem was played? And it went on like that for the rest of the night… Let’s go to bed. Let’s settle down… until 5 o’clock when the news came on.”

Weston Gallop in Alachua, Florida.

Weston Gallop, 39, is a financial advisor and father of three in Alachua, Florida, population 10,969.

“I don’t like the vitriol in the political climate we’ve gotten into. If you’re a Democrat and I’m a Republican, we can’t even do what we’re doing now. You have to fit into my box, and then there’s nothing else to talk about.”

“I feel like we’re constantly fed negative news and we deal with it. I think there’s a lot more to it than that. There’s hope and positivity, and that’s what we see a lot in a small town, just different people helping others in need.”

John Henson in Quincy, Florida.

John and Robby Henson own the White Rabbit Market in the historic county seat of Quincy, Florida. A local Presbyterian minister married the couple here last year.

“We’ve met several same-sex couples who live here in the city, and they all say the same thing: They love the city. They are accepted. It’s surprisingly open and tolerant… People have the wrong idea about the Bible Belt. Maybe it’s different in other cities. But in Quincy, we didn’t feel anything negative about being a same-sex couple.”

“Times change and people change with them.”

Angie Sutton and Chris Campbell at Suwannee River State Park, Florida.

Chris Campbell, 49, maintains power lines; his girlfriend Angie Sutton, 46, is a certified public accountant and retired Air Force employee. They were interviewed at Suwannee River State Park in Florida wearing T-shirts that read “People are angry.”

Sutton: “It’s the media. They use these inflammatory words and the country just gets angry at everyone. I don’t see any hope, I really don’t. All we can do is prepare for what might come. That means buying ammunition and rice and beans for when the shit really happens. It’s bad now.”

Campbell: “The border crisis, people are just pouring over. They want to give money to Ukraine to secure their borders. Our borders are not secure. They should deal with the US first.”

Sutton: “I remember being so proud to be a U.S. citizen. And now it’s almost embarrassing. I’m really ashamed to say this, but it’s true. It’s not at all like it was when we were growing up. It’s horrible.”

Rev. Alponso Petway in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

Alphonso Petway, 79, is a retired pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and lives in Mobile, Alabama. He was also a Freedom Rider who flew with his family to the segregated airport in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961 and was arrested for using the whites-only water cooler. He was interviewed in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, while fishing for flounder and redfish.<br />” srcset=”https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1109436/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024×2268+0+0/resize/1760×1320!/quality/90/?url=https%3A% 2F%2Fnpr.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdims3%2Fdefault%2 Fstrip%2Ffalse%2Fcrop%2F3024x2268%200%20882%2Fresize%2F3024x2268%21%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fbb%2F32abaed34b94bd20b97bdd254b72%2Frev-alphonso-petway. jpg 2x” width=”880″ height=”660″ loading=”lazy” src=”https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/18e5658/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024×2268+0+0/resize/880×660!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F %2Fnpr.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdims3%2Fdefault%2Fstr ip%2Ffalse%2Fcrop%2F3024x2268%200%20882%2Fresize%2F3024x2268%21%2F%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fde%2Fbb%2F32abaed34b94bd20b97bdd254b72%2Frev-alphonso-petway. jpg”/></p>
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<div class= — Alphonso Petway, 79, is a retired pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and lives in Mobile, Alabama. He was also a Freedom Rider who flew with his family to the segregated airport in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961 and was arrested for using the whites-only water cooler. He was interviewed in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, while fishing for flounder and redfish.

“When I was 16, I was in the Hines County Jail. My father and I shared a cell. My sister was in the women’s section. Because she was trying to get a drink. You’re talking about a political prisoner, I know it firsthand.”

“I’m always optimistic. My faith and trust is in the Lord. But if you try to go back to the ’50s or ’60s and make America great again, if you think that’s a great America, then you just want to take away people’s human rights.”

“If you’re not careful, you’ll soon have colored and white signs above your water dispensers again.”

Merileigh Miner Furr in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Merileigh Miner Furr is the owner of Miner's Toy Shop in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. — Merileigh Miner Furr is the owner of Miner’s Toy Shop in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

“For me, it’s very important to live with integrity. And I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the only small part of the world that I have any influence or control over. When I’m here in the toy store, I’m inspired to be kind, to be liked, and to be honest. I hope that people who come into my store feel better than they did before. That’s what I strive for every day.”

“I think the loudest people are the most pessimistic people. And the optimists aren’t heard, or maybe they’re just quiet. But I know they exist. That’s why I believe America is going to be great.”