CNN | Black Americans are fired up and flocking to the polls

Voters line up outside of State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta on October 12, the first day of early voting in Georgia.

Voters line up outside of State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta on October 12, the first day of early voting in Georgia.

(CNN) – Dave Richards arrived at his polling place before dawn, carrying a blue lawn chair and a giant bottle of water.

It was about 6 a.m. on October 12 — the first day of early voting in Georgia — and the business consultant was ready for a long wait in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna. After three hours in line, Richards, 51, voted in what he called the most crucial election of his lifetime.

“This election is more important than the 2008 one for Barack Obama. That 2008 one was for change and making history. This election is for saving the US,” Richards said, citing concerns about racial justice and suppression of Black voters. “The racial divide that is going on, we need someone who is going to be a leader for everyone, not just their base.”  —read more—