By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.
It’s today, but some people want it to be yesterday. Some would like to turn back the clock. There are those Americans who want to do something that is completely at odds with our value system. What are they trying to do? They are attempting to push some forward and keep others back.
There is an evil that permeates the current political and social environment. I grew up in the South, where segregation was practiced daily. Schools, facilities, and businesses were all defined by race. There were certain places that Black people couldn’t go. Signs were placed on doors and\or people were standing there letting you know you couldn’t enter.
It was stupefying to me that because of our skin color, barriers were always in front of us. Was a monopoly of rights and privileges given specifically to another race of people? What type of psychology is practiced when you tell someone they can’t because you don’t look like them?
Racism is a stigma that has been attached to the South for a very long time. Back then, it was more overt. Now, it is more subtle. Some hide it by wearing a suit or a dress. Don’t be fooled, it’s still there.
Gerrymandering in Southern states is happening now. State legislative bodies are jockeying for position to decrease the number of majority-Black voting districts. Those in charge are smiling as they dial back Black influence in the polls.
Louisiana is leading the charge to eliminate African American voting power. The effort is concentrated and intentional. Until recently, there were two mostly Black voting districts. Now there is only one.
According to confirmed reports, “Following recent legal decisions, Louisiana currently has only one majority-Black congressional district. The state’s previous two-district map was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in April”. This district, called the 2nd Congressional District, is represented by Representative Troy Carter.
All these Louisiana legislative moves have caused unrest among many Black and White citizens. It’s clear that it was a ploy to weaken votes cast by African Americans. Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, said, “It will impact how you are seen in history”. Unfortunately, most of them don’t care about how they are viewed. Character and integrity counted yesterday, and it counts today.
They take cover behind some type of false righteousness. Their constituents are filled with unbridled disdain for anyone who cares about fairness and justice.
How wise is it to create potholes for failure instead of pathways for progress? Wouldn’t it be better for all citizens to feel hopeful? I believe it would be.
Redrawing state voting maps that are detrimental to people who look like me is shameful and painful. The state of South Carolina also comes readily to mind, as the district represented by Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) has been redrawn.
Congressman James Clyburn said, “I was led, like everybody else, to believe that the government would respect what the Supreme Court did two years ago. Disappointed but not surprised”. He is South Carolina’s only Democrat in Congress. This esteemed lawmaker has been in the United States Congress for over 33 years. He took office in 1993, representing South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District.
With all this redistricting posturing, the Republicans are having their way politically and racially. Making it harder to vote and lessening the impact of our vote are their goals. This maniacal behavior on their part is an affront to our democracy.
These methods put forth by the GOP in the South may backfire on them. America is failing its Black, Brown, and White citizens now. Many believe that this group represents a clear and present danger to the future of this nation.
The votes Republicans want may not be the votes Republicans get. Stay tuned and stay uplifted. This isn’t how the story ends.
