Psst, readers, got a sec? I want you to read today’s column, but here’re two things I need from you before you do.
First, retrieve a mirror (any size will do). Next, fetch a recent picture of your children or grandchildren, if not yours maybe those of someone you hold dear. Now, take a few seconds to look at the faces in both the mirror and picture. Ideally the faces in both are smiling back at you. Okay, now put them aside but within easy reach as we move on.
Near the end of a recent sermon before a fully engaged congregation of over than a thousand, through a booming baritone of a voice the bishop delivered this unambiguous message: “Get up off your behinds, get to the polls and vote!” Nodding heads and a chorus of “amens” swept through the sanctuary.
A brief reality check.
Truth is that although voting-rights historians and their contemporary advocates may hold different opinions about candidates and policies, many agree that the upcoming midterm elections will carry significant consequences for people of color and the country as a whole. The good news is that some of the most blatant voter-suppression tactics of the past—including poll taxes, literacy tests and arbitrary registration tests—are now prohibited. And that’s a good thing. However, today’s concerns are discriminatory redistricting, polling-place closures, restrictions on voting hours and voter intimidation, all aimed at disenfranchising voters, primarily Black ones.
Okay, if you need another jaw-dropping example of sleazy voter suppression, well hold your horses because this time it’s the devious lure of a $5,000 check if you vote “the right way.” But before you decide how you’ll likely spend that check on your next vacation readers, I ask you this: am I the only one who never received the promised $2,000 Doge or tariff checks either by snail mail or direct deposit? Back in the day, we used to call seedy promises like that “selling wolf tickets.”
So, what’s at stake?
For older African Americans who remember the expansion of civil-rights protections during and before the 1960s, recent developments carry particular weight. Programs and policies that helped open doors of opportunity—including affirmative-action, diversity initiatives and Pell grants —nowadays have faced substantial changes and opposition. Recent federal actions have ended many government diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and revoked Executive Order 11246, which had required federal contractors to take affirmative action, although federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination remain in force. More troubling is that although the Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains law the Supreme Court has significantly weakened some of its protections.
These developments leave us with some important questions to pose to the faces in our mirrors:
– Voter disengagement is often discussed, particularly among younger eligible voters. However, disengagement should not be dismissed simply as apathy. It may reflect distrust, practical barriers, insufficient outreach or a belief that participation will not produce meaningful change. What should we do more of, do less of or approach differently to reach eligible voters who remain unconvinced?
– “My one vote won’t count”! “What’s in it for me if I do vote?” These are among the most common questions asked by both the young and old who waver on the decision to vote. What evidence can we offer to convince them otherwise?
-Many express concern that basic civic lessons are not taught to young students these days although some organizations are in fact performing that important task. How might one find out about those resources and get them to those who would benefit the most?
-Should traditional “get out and vote” messages from the past from the NAACP, League of Women Voters, National Urban League and others be rewritten to fit the urgency of the now?
-Throughout history, Black churches have played a critical role in the struggle for voting rights. They provided safe places for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil-rights leaders to hold strategy meetings and – like the bishop cited above – ministers strongly encouraged their congregations to exercise their right to vote. To what extent are those institutions continuing that today?
-Current voting-rights concerns include discriminatory redistricting, polling-place closures, restrictions on voting hours, voter intimidation and other practices that may affect turnout. What can we do—as individuals, churches, civic organizations and community advocates—to identify and challenge these practices?
Humming the late Marvin Gaye’s lyrics, “Make me wanna holla and throw up both my hands” from his “Inner City Blues” 1971 classic, during a recent meeting, a candidate for state representative used those words to articulate her concern about the negative implications of future elections influenced by voter apathy, low participation and voter suppression.
Okay, while taking another look at the face in your mirror and the innocent faces in the picture of your offspring, ask yourself what the immediate and long-term impact would be if you choose to sit this one out?
And while I have you dangling on an emotional hook, what would you say to your talented college daughter or son who tells you that his/her Pell grant, student loan and Snap benefits have been snatched away in the nonsensical anti-Woke purge by the current administration? Do you have the financial resources to absorb the loss?
Don’t run, don’t hide, don’t delete…….go vote!
Terry Howard is an award-winning writer, a contributing writer with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, The American Diversity Report, The Douglas County Sentinel, TheBlackmarket.com, The Augusta County Historical Society Bulletin, Medium and Substack, recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, and third place winner of the Georgia Press Award.
