Met my parents in Selma today to check on a house they still have there. I was saddened by the state of the parts of town I drove through. Came in on US Hwy 80 West from Prattville, then down Broad Street south into Old Town. I saw multiple closed businesses. Abandoned properties, some boarded up and some not. Burned properties. Junk cars on the street and in yards, and I mean JUNK cars, not fixer-uppers. Trash everywhere. Streets in bad shape. If the banners and billboards hadn't been advertising in the English, it looked like some parts of Somalia. I left by going down Jeff Davis Avenue (at least that's what it used to be named) by Bush Hog Manufacturing and then east, and it wasn't any better.
Of course, Selma is in the 7th Congressional District, the only democrat-controlled district in AL. Shame on Terri Sewell, who grew up in Selma, for neglecting her constituents. Like many, she appears to covet and enjoy the title, but not the responsibility, of Congress. I realize that the Selma citizens can't be "spoon fed" by the government (though some practically are) and turn that town into a model city, but sadly they vote for the "D" candidate every time, and the place is falling down around them.
I lived there from 1979 to 1990, and it definitely wasn't like this back then, even though it was predominantly and politically democrat.
Oh well, rant over.