In 1896, the Supreme
Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in Plessey v Ferguson that separate
but equal was legal, issuing in nearly 60 years of legal segregation and
unequal treatment. That law stood until 1954, SCOTUS struck down that decision
with Brown v the Board of Education.
As a result of that late
19th century decision, my mother, who grew up in the segregated
south, walked past a school for white children to get to the one for blacks.
The books at my mother’s school were hand me downs from the white school when
they got new material. Black folks who wanted to go to the movies had to pay at
the window and then go around the side to the stairs and sit in the balcony.
They couldn’t eat in a restaurant but had to go to a window and get it to go.
And of course, we all know about sitting in the back of the bus.
Certainly, black
businesses existed and in those spaces, black people could expect to be treated
with the human dignity they didn’t get in other places. But not every service
was available and sometimes they had to do business where they weren’t wanted.
Following the 1954
decision, and the ensuing Civil Rights movement, black folks began organizing,
marching and boycotting, simply to ensure that they received the rights they
were guaranteed. A big part of that fight was the right to vote.
Legal segregation may
have been repealed, but in reality, some spaces are still not safe for skin
that is not white, even in 2016.
Many “good” liberal
people saw the election of Barak Obama as the end of racism. We were supposed
to be post racial era with his inauguration, but in 2016, we’re still fighting.
And people are shocked. Some are angry with us for pointing out the
inequities. They want us to move on. They tell us that none of us
were alive during slavery, so what does it have to do with what is happening
now. That’s not even a little bit true. There are people actively
trying to take us back to a time when we had less, because too many saw us as
less. We can’t allow those people to win.
So we continue to
fight. Voting remains a part of that fight. The election is about
so much more than Clinton versus Trump. Sure, the next president will
appoint the next SCOTUS vacancies and federal judges. But this election is also
about electing people to Congress who won’t be obstructionists, like our
current incumbents. More importantly, it’s about electing women and men to
Congress who care about people more than ideology and who believe in preserving
the rights of all citizens. This election is about electing governors and state
legislators who will do the same. There are propositions and amendments
to state constitutions on the ballot. At the local level, we must care about
mayors, and city councils and school boards. Those people have power over your
life.
Finally, read the
platforms of each party. Look at their positions on issues that matter to you,
such as social justice, climate change and other environmental protections,
business regulations, education, women’s health care issues or social security.
Politicians often align on votes along party lines.
At the reception for the
opening of the Smithsonian’s new African American museum last weekend,
President Obama reminded us that history doesn’t always run straight and we can
go back as well as forward. You must vote to go forward.
