Caught between “out of touch” Democrats and a “trickle-down” Republican philanthropist: A political snapshot of a poor Southern town

My hometown, Lake City, South Carolina, is a snapshot of small-town America. It has been in decline since the 1980s, mirroring the trajectory of many small towns across the country. Places in the Rust Belt suffered when automotive and industrial plants moved overseas. Lake City, as a hub for farming and tobacco, began its demise when agricultural jobs disappeared.

According to the 2020 US Census, Lake City has about 6500 people and a poverty rate of about 30%. The US poverty rate is 11%. The median household income in Lake City is $38,000, and the per capita yearly income is around $18,000. For the US, the median household income was $67,500, and the per capita income was $41,500.

There have been demographic changes. White people have left the town. Currently, the city is 84% black and 16% white. Thirty years ago, according to the 1990 census, the town was larger — with 7,150 persons, and more racially diverse — the town was 66% black, 33% white.

Since the 1980’s several presidential administrations — both Republican and Democrat — have managed to overlook the concerns of the black and the poor in Lake City. They have been ignored by Democrats whose focus on identity politics is of little concern to these working-class residents. And in an unusual twist, they are being overlooked by a hometown Republican philanthropist whose giving mirrors…