To Vote or not to Vote: A Heritage of Struggle and Success.

(ThyBlackMan.com) Word to the wise: Don’t Boo! Vote! President Barack Obama

Hey there, fellow Americans! Election day is just around the corner, and I keep on involuntarily remembering my grandpa. Jeez, that old guy was always getting on my case about voting when I was about 12 years old. He would wag his finger and say, “You better get your butt to those polls when you turn 18!” I thought he was just being grumpy concerning certain issues! But soon he started to tell stories that got me to view the political landscape in America from a unique perspective.

Grandpa new that voting was not just a boring adult thing. That is the pulse of our democracy. For Black folks like my grandpa, this was a right — hard-won in sweat and blood. Grab a seat my friends, history with a view to my educational calling, is about to rise out of the ashes and there will never be another election the same as that of November 2024.

 

Who Got to Play the Voting Game?

Back to the beginning of this great land called America. A nation founded on:  We the People…should allow votes from all hands not just to stuffy white politicians. Wrong! Only white dudes with property got to play at first. Oh, and women, Black folks, poor people etc., you all fell off the bench!

Listening but then hold up, something started to change. The 15th Amendment (1870): The Race Burden of the Vote Black men were like “this is our time! Our time to shine!” Oh, but it was not that easy.

Jim Crow Arrives (literacy Test, Poll Tax, and the Grandfather Clause)

And suddenly young black people thought we might finally get to play, and bang here came Jim Crow slamming that door shut as well. These were not modest standards, these measures appeared to be dubious as far as blocking Black individuals from casting a ballot.

Imagine this: You arrive to vote, eager conveniently enough. But wait! The first step is you must pass a “literacy test”.

Sounds fair, right? Nope! Questions like: How man bubbles are there in a bar of soap? Those tests were a set-up for failure, there was at least 3 trick questions that even college professors would look & be like “duh” where did this come from? Oh, and if you somehow made it past that — surprise! They are saving a poll tax for you. No money? No vote!

But it didn’t stop there. Many had “grandfather clauses”: You could only vote if your grandpa was voting before the Civil War. Guess who that excluded.? Uh huh, every Black person.

Grandpa’s Voting Adventures

Now, my grandpa; Frank Lewis, lived through this mess. He was born in the deep south in the 1920 precursor to Jim Crow South, so he had plenty of exposure to racism. He recounted to me when he tried to register to vote the first time. The office clerk was a Caucasian lady who looked at him like he had just vomited on the floor. She then reluctantly handed him an encyclopedic tome.

The clerk sneered: “Read that out loud to me”. In a lawyerly vocabulary, she amplified her voice, while reciting the state constitution. Grandpa scrabbled for the words, as sharp as ever in wit but indiscreet with only an 8th grade education. The clerk laughed heartily and demanded that security escort him out.

But grandpa didn’t give up. He read and he worked and tried many times unsuccessfully. It would take years for him to finally cast his first ballot. This was a man who felt like he fit in, “It seemed as if at last I was some real citizen,” his eyes glistened, moist with a tear and the pleasure for the moment of recollection when discussing it with me. That tough lesson was one this writer will never forget!

What Voter Suppression Did

It was nothing special in terms of a grandpa-story. Black people were systematically denied access to the voting booth all over the South. This is when the History teacher in me speaks.

The numbers don’t lie:

• In 1896, over one hundred thirty thousand black voters were registered in Louisiana; my father’s home state; by 1904? Just 1,342.
• Mississippi? The percentage of Black adults registered was 67% in 1890. This fell to under 6% by 1892.

We were not just checking boxes on a page. What that meant was Black communities in my home state of Illinois lost the right to choose who represented them. Powerless in determining the laws that would govern their actions with a view to their lives. My grandmother would recall; “It was like you were invisible to your own country.”

Why We Can’t Forget

Now, this may have you saying ‘That’s old hat. That was then, now we are having a different scenario, right? Well, yes and no. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 took out a lot of those Jim Crow laws. But don’t you go giving up yet folks.

There are still attempts by some groups to decrease the effect of the Black vote. They play dirty little games by closing polling locations in Black neighborhoods or enacting voter ID laws that disproportionately affect low-income folks. The new Jim Crow is still the same old Beast here.

So, we need to remember that fact of history. The lesson is that we should never assume our vote is a sort of inherent right, same thing with democracy; it will be under attack repeatedly — you turn your back once or twice to take in the sun. Let’s not rest on our laurels. Understand that we need to fight every single time if we want to finally see the fruit that has been postponed so wickedly of the labor of people like my grandpa.

Voting Today: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So where are we now? Well, it’s a mixed bag:

The Good:

• More Americans can participate in elections than have ever before.
• We have early voting, mail-in ballots and more to make the process of voting itself easier.
• There are numerous organizations already fighting for voting rights (Fair Fight, League of Women Voters and others). “Souls to the Polls in the Black Church has made inroads.”

The Bad:

• Several states are enacting new voting restrictions.
• Voter ID laws can be a real hindrance for poor people, senior citizens and young voters.
• Gerrymandering (that’s when they redraw voting districts to make sure one party has a better chance) is still bad.

The Ugly:

• Voter intimidation is far from eliminated — still rampant in minority communities.
• Misinformation on social media is rampant ahead of Election Day
• Certain politicians are going so far as to call our elections “rigged” with no evidence.

But there lies the rub: we’re not helpless in this battle. Nope, not by a long shot!

You be the Change. (Evil Triumphs When Good Men do Nothing)

It’s a shame, really — no one is going to save us from all this. Hey-ho! We already do public-private partnerships. Mission Possible, if you choose to accept it…

1. Research & stay informed, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! Check out vote. com to find out what your state laws are.
2. Register to Vote- and Confirm Your Registration Before Election Day. This is not what you look forward to when at the polling station?!
3. Help Others Vote: Got a car? Offer rides to the polls. Know the rules? Train us on rights for contributors.
4. Get involved: The League of Women Voters and other organizations always need volunteers to help with voter registration drives.
5. That no matter what vote you cast — the phone lines are open at The Watchdog: Report it! The ACLU provides a voting issue hotline.
6. Or as they say, Vote early and vote often. Local races matter too! School boards, city councils — that’s the action.
7. Inform Others: Talk to others about your new/recent voting experience and the rights you have learned. It’s just more knowledge and good use for having it.

Every time you vote, remember you are honoring those like my grandpa who for the longest never could. It was a right people fought, bled and some even died for. Please do not let their sacrifices be in vain.

 

 

Finish story here; To Vote or not to Vote: A Heritage of Struggle and Success.