--- title: See How an Atlanta Suburb Navigates Political Divisiveness description: In a new short film, TIME visits the town of Norcross, Georgia and captures the nuance of navigating neighbors with divergent opinions. canonical: https://time.com/5923106/georgia-suburb-election-video/ author: Ed Kashi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-12-23T19:04:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T12:22:23.647Z article:section: Politics og:title: See How an Atlanta Suburb Is Navigating the Country’s Divisiveness og:description: In a new short film, TIME visits a Georgia town and captures the nuance of navigating neighbors with divergent opinions og:url: https://time.com/5923106/georgia-suburb-election-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt874dde03b4917c9f/698a1599096a9454c66a8f51/BITT_Norcross_060.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Norcross og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See How an Atlanta Suburb Is Navigating the Country’s Divisiveness twitter:description: In a new short film, TIME visits a Georgia town and captures the nuance of navigating neighbors with divergent opinions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt874dde03b4917c9f/698a1599096a9454c66a8f51/BITT_Norcross_060.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Georgia Has Become the Epicenter of America’s Political Landscape. See How an Atlanta Suburb Is Navigating the Country’s Divisiveness by [Ed Kashi](https://time.com/author/ed-kashi/), [Julie Winokur](https://time.com/author/julie-winokur/) and [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/) Dec 23, 2020 7:04 PM UTC  Ed Kashi by [Ed Kashi](https://time.com/author/ed-kashi/), [Julie Winokur](https://time.com/author/julie-winokur/) and [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/) Dec 23, 2020 7:04 PM UTC On Nov. 6, Georgia became [the epicenter](https://time.com/5910666/georgia-senate-runoffs/) of America’s complicated political landscape, voting narrowly to elevate now President-elect [Joe Biden](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris/) and triggering two [runoff races](https://time.com/5912746/georgia-senate-races-state-economy/) that will determine the balance of the [Senate](https://time.com/5906966/2020-election-senate/). Georgia now holds the key to whether Biden gets to ride in the fast lane with his agenda, or be stuck on the side of the road. The state’s fast rise to political relevance can be explained by two forces: increased voter turnout and changing demographics. Atlanta’s suburbs have become international hubs with growing numbers of immigrants and more and more engaged first-time voters. Students in Gwinnett County Public Schools speak over 100 different languages—their families were bound to show up at the polls sooner or later. In a new short film for TIME, we visited Norcross, the town in Gwinnett that became majority minority within the past decade. We watched an Asian American first-time Democratic politician canvassing, met a Black American teacher who voted for Trump, and visited Alejandro Villasana’s Christos Community Church, an evangelical Presbyterian congregation where services are conducted in English and Spanish. Demographic data in fast-changing places like Norcross—which can be measured, tallied and visualized—only tells a portion of the story. Behind the statistics are individual people with complex, and often conflicting, beliefs. This short film captures the nuance and thoughtfulness of people with divergent opinions who live in concert at the community level. They are navigating the divisiveness of the moment by finding their true political voices, even if that means breaking ranks with their “tribes.” During the 2020 presidential election, [Latino voter turnout](https://time.com/5907525/latino-vote-2020-election/) in Georgia increased by 72% and Asian American Pacific Islander (A.A.P.I.) turnout increased by 91%. Now, the Senate runoffs are already breaking records for early voting. This electoral cliffhanger promises to be dramatic up until the last ballot is cast. Whatever the outcome, the reality of voters lives on the ground is still a transformational work-in-progress. From his pulpit, Villasana urged his congregation to celebrate the outcome of the presidential election, no matter who wins, and to support democracy above all else. “Before being a Republican,” he said, “I am a believer in the system.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5923106/georgia-suburb-election-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5923106/georgia-suburb-election-video/"},"headline":"Georgia Has Become the Epicenter of America’s Political Landscape. 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