see FLOYD ACT

Voter Suppression. The Birth of Apathy.

By ALLEN R. GRAY Dallas Area African American Newspaper Publishers

It is difficult to determine where the line between voter suppression ends and voter apathy begins. What is certain, though, is that the line of demarcation between the two has been blurred by decades upon decades of interference from damning schemes that strip Black Americans of their legal right to have a say when it comes to elections.

Know that voter apathy for Black voter apathy is not innate. It is instead a psychological implant that has been nurtured over time and has evolved over generations due to the many mutations of the poll tax. The poll tax wasn’t born during post-Civil War Reconstruction, though. The concept of the poll tax dates to the time of Cleopatra’s Egypt, and essentially all conquering nations since that time have used a “head tax” or capitation to sustain its government and fund wars; but Americans during the 19th century took the poll tax to a whole new level.

During the period of Reconstruction, when newly freed slaves gained the right to vote, various forms of the poll tax became a lot more creative than guessing the number of jelly beans in a mason jar. The Grandfather clause, for in-stance, said that you could only vote if your father voted. Which meant that all former slaves were left out. Then there was the literacy test, which asked that you be able to read (literature supplied by election officials) before you could vote. Blacks were asked to read complex legal documents, while whites were asked to read literature with simple sight words. The voting dilemma became even more compounded when we consider that only people who qualified to vote prior to the Civil War, or whose ancestors qualified to vote were allowed to cast ballots during elections. This requirement eliminated an entire nation of newly freed slaves. White men, of course, were exempt from the rigors of poll taxation in any form. These methods of suppression towards Blacks sustained well into the early 1900s.

The monetary poll tax, which is perhaps the most infamous of all poll taxes, often ranged anywhere from $1.50 and greater per voter. That doesn’t seem like much by today’s standards—but when you consider that in 1905 the average Black family earned around $3 per week, sirloin steaks were 10 cents a pound and the homes sold for approximately $3,500—potential voters were forced to decide whether to vote or feed their families.

These insidious measures worked to suppress the Black vote for more than a century, despite legislation that mandated otherwise. The “Reconstruction Amendments” attempted to rectify Blacks’ right to vote. The 13th Amendment (1865) freed the slaves; the 14th Amendment (1866) gave Blacks citizenship. (The Black Codes, laws aimed at oppressing Blacks, were also enacted in 1865.) The 15th Amendment (1870) outlawed discrimination in voting rights but it had no penalties for violating of those rights. So, in 1870, the Enforcement Act attempted to give teeth to laws that had bark but no bite.

After decades of protest and civil unrest, the House passed the 24th Amendment in 1962 eradicating the poll tax for federal elections. Then the landmark Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 that sought to secure Blacks’ right to vote unencumbered. Yet, voter suppression in some form lingered, nonetheless. In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections also rendered the poll tax unconstitutional for state and local elections. Yet, as recently as 2013, that same U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Shelby v. Holder that states had the right to do things like limit early voting and require voters to show photo IDs.

The spirit of Jim Crow laws has proven to be that revenant who can mutate and transform depending on the climate and circumstance. While in the past voter suppression was much more obvious, today’s systemic racism has a more covert means of undermining the voting rights of targeted demographic groups.

Today, we would be hardpressed to find the Ku Klux Klan at polling places burning crosses and crops to turn voters away, but contemporary methods of suppression have proven to be just as effective acts of violence. Here are some contemporary tactics used to turn voters away from election polls: • Voter ID requirements allow election officials to use false claims of rampant voter fraud to justify strict requirements like a photo ID, or laws requiring a physical street address discriminate against minorities groups that are more likely to have P.O. Box addresses, such as Native Americans living on reservations. • Lack of language access, where election officials refuse to translate materials or offer language assistance (as required by law), which suppresses the voting of Asian Americans and Latinos. • Voter roll purges, claims to remove duplicate names, the names of the de-ceased, or the names of convicted felons. The purge actually deletes the names of millions of eligible voters and disproportionately effects communities of color. • Polling place closures/consolidations, where election officials have closed thousands of polling places, largely in communities of color. Recently in Chicago’s Cook County alone, which has the largest non-Hispanic black population in the country, 95 polling places were either closed or moved. • Lack of funding for elections, demonstrated its affect when dur

see VOTER, page 9

Black Women, from page 4...

Black women get it. Gwen McKinney, Patricia Ann Ford, and a coterie of their friends have launched a great website that explores the intersection of suffrage, race, and power,(srp@ unerased.com) and the ways that the majority narrative has too often erased the contributions that Black women have made to suffrage and justice.

Most feminists know about Susan B. Anthony, but how many white feminists know of Nannie Helen Burroughs or Ida B. Wells? Black women often advocated for the same rights that white women did, but in protest, thanks to southern women and their racist mindset, Black women were excluded from public activity or asked to march at the end.

That nonsense did not discourage the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in 1913 when they pushed their way into the center of the march.

The historical relationship between Black and white women is ugly, but in this era of Black Lives Matter, Black women are rising.

Despite extremely nasty shade, which I won’t dignify with a reference, there is at least a 60-40 chance that a Black woman will be Joe Biden’s running mate. The Higher Heights for America PAC is named after Dr. Dorothy Height (higherheightsforamerica. org) and supports Black women running for political office. They describe their space as “a political home for Black women,” and thy see to elect, mobilize, and amplify Black women.

They are among those who celebrated Cori Bush’s surprising victor over incumbent William “Lacy” Clay in the St. Louis congressional primary. Actually, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

Bush planned her work and worked her plan as a visible presence in St Louis, an organizer for Black Lives Matter and a grassroots activist. Her win is a victory for Black women, for progressives, and activists.

Even as Black women are rising, ugly racism too often attempts to put us in our place. In Aurora, Colorado Brittney Gilliam had planned a girl’s afternoon with her sister, nieces, and six-yearold daughter, Instead, they were confronted by the police because they mistakenly identified her car as “stolen.”

Our “law enforcement” officer pointed guns at the young, innocent Black women and girls, and they were forced to lay, face down, on hot asphalt as they were handcuffed. Later, the police tepidly acknowledge their “mistake.” Later the police chief, Vanessa Wilson, apologized and offered therapy for the children.

Brittney told a CNN anchor that the chief could “shove it” as she found it insincere. Incidentally, Valerie Wilson is a white woman who bet out three Black men for the job. Would they have handled this differently?

As always, the pace of progress oscillates with two steps forward and one step back. Black women are rising politically, but some things change slowly. Where are the majority women’s organizations in Aurora, Colorado?

Pandemic notwithstanding, why are they silent? Would the Aurora police have treated a white woman with four young people in the car? Ain’t I A Woman?

Floyd Act, from page 1...

State Rep. Harold Dutton, TLBC Chair, emphasized that improving the police environment is a necessary first step to addressing the systemic racial injustice that exists in Texas.

“The road to justice in Texas, particularly for Black and brown people, has been fraught with dead ends the dead ends of white supremacy and bigotry,” said Chairman Dutton. “Today we are here to open that road for all Texans. We recognize this is the first step to equal justice, and we respectfully ask all the people in Texas and all the legislators in Texas to join us.”

In response to Floyd’s death, TLBC members hosted a series of town halls on changes that community leaders and advocates believe are necessary to combat racism and disproportionate punishment against the Black community. Those conversations culminated in today’s announcement of the George Floyd Act, legislation that has been spearheaded by State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longestserving Black legislator in the state and Chair of the Texas House Public Health Committee.

“The George Floyd Act addresses the injustices that George Floyd experienced at the hands of police officers all his life, and that black people experience routinely,” said Chair Thompson. “We all are going to have to come together to pass this law and take the necessary step to a more equal and freer Texas for everyone.”

Rodney Floyd, George Floyd’s youngest brother, spoke during the press

The George Floyd Act will be filed as a comprehensive law containing several important provisions that advocates and legislators have long sought to put into law. The Act will address: 1. Qualified Immunity – create a new state law allowing victims and families of victims of police violence to sue law enforcement for any violation of a person’s rights. 2. Duties of Peace officers – requires all officers to prevent crimes and rescue those at risk of death of injury, including when it is at the hand of another officer. 3. Limit Use of Force – Puts a ban on chokeholds, emphasizes de-escalation in all situations, and severely limits an officer’s ability to use lethal force. 4. End Arrest for Fine-Only Violations – Officers can no longer arrest anyone for offenses that are merely fines, a long-awaited final piece of the Sandra Bland Act. 5. Requires Corroboration for Undercover Testimony – No longer can a person be convicted solely on the word of an undercover and potentially corrupt officer. 6. Departments Hold Officers Accountable – Creates a strong disciplinary matrix that holds officers accountable for their actions.

The George Floyd act has already gained support from a diverse collection of crucial advocacy groups, including the Texas NAACP, Mothers Against Police Brutality, ACLU of Texas, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, Black Lives Matter Houston, Texas Organizing Project, and more.

conference to express support for the George Floyd Act and share his appreciation for legislators for acting after his brother’s death.

“This Act has so many pieces that are way overdue,” said Rodney Floyd. “The George Floyd Act will hopefully be passed so we can achieve justice we are all comfortable with. He is smiling and cheering on the bill, knowing that his death wasn’t in vain, and we thank you for the support.”

Tezlyn Figaro, Senior Advisor of The George Floyd Foundation thanked Chair Thompson for her leadership and for reaching out to the family.

“This bill is the first Texas legislation that includes participation from the George Floyd Foundation and will allow the Foundation to actively participate in social justice, education and advocacy,” said Tezlyn Figaro. “It’s very important when the family has the opportunity to be involved and actually have a seat at the table.”

State Senator Royce West, who will be the Senate sponsor of the bill, talked extensively about the critical police reforms that are part of the bill – and the unity it will take to get it done.

“The bill creates a path for strong disciplinary actions for police and our police unions,” said Senator West. “Is it going to be easy? No. But all of us stand together to make these reasonable recommendations and we invite all our colleagues – including the Governor – to be a part of it.”

State Representative Nicole Collier, Chair of the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, was clear that the George Floyd Act is a crucial first step – one to be followed by numerous laws in the upcoming legislative session.

“What you see today is the first of a series of legislation that is going to address policing and criminal justice reform,” said Chair Collier. “We won’t back down until there are serious police reforms here in Texas.”

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