OK, so we are almost a full year out from the presidential elections -- That's not even the full deal as the Caucuses have not even begun happening yet. For those of you not used to the voting lexicon or the ritual of electing a new Fearless Leader to fight Moose and Squirrel, think of it as the first two minute warning at the end of the first quarter. We have not yet begun to piss each other off.
In the interim, I received in my mailbox an e-mail chain that I though was dead. It concerned Black people and the ridiculous idea that Congress is going to take away our right to vote. I'll let you read the e-mail and my subsequent response for yourself, but I will say this much in advance. The only thing keeping Black people from voting is ourselves. We can buy concert tickets, bootleg DVDs, and be knowledgeable about an entire cultural world that is NOT adequately reported on by the mainstream media, but we do not vote. Stop waiting on a great man, and become a leader yourself by registering. Incidentally if you are indeed in the mood to call your Congressmen, tell them to support the signing of the ADA Restoration Bill. It is part of some of the most comprehensive civil rights policy created in the past 20 years, and testament that the Black community still retains its relevance in civil rights policy through its support of the disability movement.
Anyways...here you go.
From: Carl
To: Angry Negro
Thursday, October 25, 2007 1:54 PM
Subject: FW: Camille Cosby..IMPORTANT!!! Do Not Delete! From: Carl's misinformed colleage
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 1:54 PM
Subject: FW: Camille Cosby..IMPORTANT!!! Do Not Delete!
Hi All.
At the recent NAACP Meeting, President Bush finally met with the leaders and assured them that he would sign the right to vote bill for another 25 years.
My only concern is: Do the other race have to be subjected to a right to vote extension? Personally, the President, if he really wanted to show Good faith, should have abolished this bill and made it simply a right with no limitations. But then maybe I am living in a dream world. However, I know IT CAN BE DONE!! Voting Rights Act-Expires for blacks in 2007.
Below you will find a speech that Bill Cosby's wife gave at a function. Everyone please read this and pass it on to as many African Americans you come in contact with.
Camille Cosby just made a reference about the Voting Rights Act in her most recent open letter on racism. This is extremely important. We are in the 21st Century and we were wondering, and when I say 'we', I mean others of us out there who wonder if everyone else out there knows what the significance of the year 2007 is to Black America?
Did you know that our right to VOTE will expire in the year 2007?
Seriously! The Voters Rights Act signed in 1965 by Lyndon B. Johnson was just an ACT. It was not made a law.
In 1982, Ronald Reagan amended the Voters Rights Act for another 25 years. Which means that in the year 2007 we could lose the Right to vote!
Does anyone realize that African Americans are the only group of people who require PERMISSION under the United States Constitution to vote!
In the year 2007, Congress will once again convene to decide whether or not Blacks should retain the rights to vote (crazy but true).
In order for this to be passed, 38 states will have to approve an extension. This is ludicrous! Not only should the extension be approved, but also the ACT must be made a law.
Our right to vote should no longer be up for discussion, review and/or evaluation.
We must contact our Congress-persons, Senators, Alder persons, etc., to put a stop to this! As bona fide Citizens of the United States, we cannot "drop the ball" on this one! We have come too far to let government make us take such a huge step backward. So please, let us push forward to continue to build the momentum towards gaining equality.
Please pass this onto others, as we are sure that many more individuals are not aware of this. I urge all of you that are able, to contact those in government that have your vote and make them aware of our combined concern for this issue.
One voice!...... One Vote! You cannot complain, if you do not
participate.....local, State, & national.....
When I received this one I had no choice but to pass it on. Please do the same! From: Angry Negro
To: Carl
Thursday, October 25, 2007 1:54 PM
Subject: Re: FW: Camille Cosby..IMPORTANT!!! Do Not Delete! Carl,
Feel free to pass this information to your misinformed colleagues.
VRA 1965 does not give anyone the right to vote -- therefore its expiration cannot cause you to LOSE your right to vote. The right of Black people to vote is assured (by law) in the 15th Amendment which states, " 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." This along with the 13th and 14th Amendments are known as the Civil War Amendments because they were ratified as part of the conclusion of that conflict. In essence they state:
1. slavery is illegal
2. Anyone born in the states is a citizen
3. Any citizen may vote.
Now we know, of course that this right to vote was still held from Black people (and is effectively kept back from some of us today) but the breaking of this hard tradition was not from the ratification of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Here is what VRA REALLY does.
Voting in the States is run by a local Voting Board. Even in the election of a President, Voting is still a local matter. Any complaints about bad voting practices were sent to the local people to deal with. Because of this, if you lived in a locality that had racist voting practices (e.g. the South and urban North), and you complained that you were being discriminated against, the complaint was handled by the very same people perpetuating that injustice. VRA 1965 changed this. VRA 1965 made it so that Black people being discriminated against by their local boards could go directly to the Federal Government to make their complaint. This made it more likely that Blacks would receive more justice as the decision was being made by the Feds and not Cletus the local voting manager who liked the Darkies to know their place. In addition the Act also shifted the burden of proof from the complainant to the Accused. Before VRA 1965 was ratified, if you complained that a voting Board was racist and discriminatory it was up to the person making the accusation to prove that the Voting Board had broken the law. Because the Voting Board made the discriminatory voting rules, it was often hard for a complainant to prove this. VRA 1965 made it so that the Voting Board accused had to prove that they were NOT racist!. This was a big help to the cause because then even if their actions were "legal" it could be shown how their practices were indeed discriminatory. So the Voting Rights Act of 1965 did not give Blacks the right to vote but it did continue to open the door for voting for us.
Here is the deal:
Firstly, I'm pretty sure that this whole e-mail is an urban legend, and that this has never happened. As far as I know Bush has only addressed the NAACP once, and VRA 1968 was not raised as part of a discussion. The fact that this e-mail is generated every few years or so would further point to that. Secondly, VRA 1965 was important in 1965, but there was also VRA 1968 as well as additional Civil Rights Act. One could also argue that the Act itself is no longer relevant as Voting offices are no longer an effective means of discrimination. There is no phantom George Wallace standing in the door of voting offices, nor literacy tests or recitations of the Constitution keeping Blacks from voting. With the exception of the debacle during the Florida elections I doubt many Black people have even thought of VRA 1965. (I am even loath to mention Florida as Black people were not the only ones getting screwed anyway.) Thirdly, this is obvious crap. If Black people were genuinely going to lose the right to vote, it would have been at the top of the list for Barrack Obama's campaign. Who do your REALLY think he is expecting to vote for him?
In any case maybe I should allow for some ignorance-powered paranoia, as our people don't vote enough anyway.