The Invisible Political: Greenville County, South Carolina

Welcome back to the Invisible Political, where we take a look at underdiscussed counties that will play a pivotal role in the 2020 elections. Today, we head to South Carolina, home of a surprisingly competitive Senate race.

Greenville County is located in northern South Carolina, bordering North Carolina. With a population over 500,000, Greenville is the largest county in the state. The largest city is the namesake Greenville with a population of around 70,000 but about 400,000 people live in the Greenville area and the Metro area has a population bordering on one million. The area is generally referred to as “Upstate” South Carolina along with nearby cities Spartanburg and Anderson.

Historically, the area first started growing in the late 19th century due to a growth in cotton mills in the area, although the industry took an especially hard hit during the Great Depression. Like many areas in the Deep South, the 20th century saw intense racism and lynchings with no punishment, most notably the killing of Willie Earle. Willie’s story is surprisingly similar to the one I described in the article about Forsyth County, he was accused of stabbing a cab driver and was arrested. While in jail, a lynch mob of 30 white taxi drivers dragged him out of the jail and killed him. Despite many in the mob signing confessions about the…