PROGRAM SUCCESS – JULY 2011
PAGE 25
Stop the bleaching of Black and Latino voting districts:
Florida leads the way in voter Suppression and Regression
By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr
Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO)
President of Education Online Services Corporation
if there will be a strong
turnout of the African
American vote in
2012, as it was in
2008, will determine
the results of who will
be in control of the
U.S.
Senate
and
House, as well as
whether
or
not
President
Barack
Obama will be re-
elected President of
the United States.
Wake up! What we do now in 2011 will determine whether or
not the 2012 Elections will be fair and just as required by the
1965 Voting Rights Act. My whole life has been and continues
to be in the Civil Rights Movement. We all should stay alert
and involved because our voting rights are precious and we
fought too hard to allow any “regression” (the systematic
redrawing of voting districts particularly in the state of Florida
that will end up losing Black American and Latino American
voting representation in the U.S. Congress.)
Black Americans once again stand at a critical junction in
helping to determine the future of the United States of America,
and thereby also the future of the world. Fifty million African
Americans with a spending power of one trillion dollars and
millions of potential votes in the upcoming November 2012
national elections across the nation are well strategically
situated to play a major role in determining the outcome of
these important elections.
There are some who say that every election should get our
attention. But, it would be a major oversight for us not to see
that there are forces hard at work now to regress and suppress
the Black and Latino vote across America. That is why the
upcoming congressional hearings on voting rights in Florida
and in other states are so very important.
- Will the Tea Party be successful this year in its backlash
tactics against the Obama Administration?
- Will the jubilance of the election of the first African
American President of the United States, three years ago,
give way this year to the forces of bigotry and reactionary
politics?
- Will the majority of all Americans be too quick to forget
the shameful and disastrous economic condition that
President George W. Bush left the country in when he
departed the White House in January 2009?
These questions and many more will be answered by the civic
action or inaction of African Americans and others who care
about the future of America, as we prepare to hopefully have an
unprecedented turn out of our votes on or before the November
2012 elections.
One the leading national research bodies, the Joint Center for
Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C., released
a study on the power of the Black vote in America. Dr. David
A. Bositis led the study for the Joint Center. He concluded that
Millions of dollars,
however, are now
being spent to confuse
African American voters. One such deceptive ploy is going
on once again in the state of Florida with the so-called “Fair
Districts” Constitutional Amendments that were approved
in 2010. I believe these Amendments are unconstitutional
and a blatant violation of the Voting Rights Act. These
proposals are unfair and will lead to the “bleaching” of
voting districts in states like Florida. Of course, this will be
a undermining disaster to the Voting Rights Act. The
proposed “whitening” of voting districts has a lot of Black
people confused and we when we are confused, it can cause
a low voter turnout.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
In Florida, more than four million dollars has already been
spent to promote the “bleaching” of Black and Latino voting
districts. Some of my colleagues in the Civil Rights
Movement have been unfortunately sucked into supporting
these latest tactics of voter suppression and disempowerment
of black political interests and progress. I stand firmly with
Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Congressman John Lewis,
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman James Clyburn,
and many other members of the congressional Black Caucus
who have publicly spoken out against these regressive and
backward ballot initiatives that are designed to undermine and
replace the Voting Rights Act with State’s Rights Constitutional
Amendments.
We need a large Black voter turnout throughout the nation.
Let’s not sit back and watch others dismantle our progress.
Our communities deserve better. Let us not be confused or
apathetic. Let’s tell our young voters and our senior voters
that the future is in our hands: Vote early and vote strong.
Don’t lose hope. Don’t be confused. Stop the bleaching!
Vote for freedom, justice, and equality for all.