The Black Vote

So we’re just going to pretend like America hasn’t been flawed? This week, Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his Vice President after he had previously hinted that a woman would be his running mate. Shortly after this announcement, throughout social media platforms people appeared to be in an uproar. People made comments about everything from the policies that she’s supported to her not actually being black and it appears that her being a HBCU graduate and her support of polices such as the legalization of marijuana and increasing teachers’ salaries have been conveniently overlooked. The most alarming of these posts includes those who swear that due to Kamala being Biden’s running mate they will not vote in the upcoming presidential election. I would like to know, how did we go from vote or die to throw the entire ballot away?

I would like to know, how did we go from vote or die to throw the entire ballot away?

I’ve never understood how some members of the black community could be so okay with no voting. You can watch a couple minutes of the movie, Selma, and see that us having the right to vote was not given. Susana B. Anthony, yes, the woman that a lot of women (not me though) contribute the woman’s suffrage movement to, stated in 1866 when she was meeting with Frederick Douglass (a man who freed himself from slavery), “I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman.” You read that correctly, she would rather harm herself than advocate for a black person’s right to vote and you should not be surprised to know that she was not alone in her sentiments.

You read that correctly, she would rather harm herself than advocate for a black person’s right to vote and you should not be surprised to know that she was not alone in her sentiments.

Even though in 1870 the 15th amendment gave black people the right to vote, states found numerous ways to suppress their votes through methods such as literacy tests, lengthy voting applications, and blatant voter intimidation. Let’s note that slavery had just “legally” ended about five years prior to this amendment and under the umbrella of slavery it was illegal for slaves to read and write. So we all know that completing these forms were nearly impossible for them; however, despite all of these barriers thousands of black people began to vote and because of them congress and other political arenas saw an influx in the number of black politicians. We even saw this occur in 2012 when a record number of black people went to the polls and voted to re-elect Barak Obama.

We had to fight for our right to vote all across the country long after the 15th amendment and we see this in historical events like the freedom summer of 1964 in Mississippi and the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 which both occurred less than 60 years ago. Now, a large number of us have the right to vote and we’re just not going to do it? America has made it clear that her love for us wavers as well as her desire to protect us but our ancestors were literally hung from trees and plastered on postcards for attempting to vote and I feel like the least we can do is partake in elections.

Are you one of those people who feel like your vote doesn’t count? You’re right it absolutely does not count if you do not vote.