Injustice is an unfortunate part of human life, and America has not been immune. But of all of the injustices that have scarred the countenance of this nation, the matter of racism has been the most enduring – and in this land, racism has most often been a black and white issue.
Every segment of American life has been visited by the stench of this injustice, but nowhere has the specter of American Racism appeared more definitively than it did in the arena of voting and elections. The right to vote, being a basic tenet of citizenship, has always been a carefully guarded privilege. But for ages that right was actively and specifically denied to American citizens descended from those formerly enslaved. Even when the law allowed for it, all sorts of nefarious impediments were employed to deprive black people of the right to exercise their franchise of citizenship through voting.
Ultimately, voting rights became so identified with matters of racial injustice that assuring that black people voted became identified with a correction of racial injustice. In 1957 the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shepherded the Civil Rights Movement by proclaiming, “give us the ballot.” Thereafter thousands of Freedom Riders risked life and limb to push for racial equality, expressed through black voting. In many ways progress towards racial justice in America became measured by what was happening at the polls.
Growing up as a black person in the 60’s it was an unquestioned sacred duty to honor the hard-fought right to vote! We knew the price that had been paid, and we understood the victories over injustice that were symbolized every time a black hand cast a ballot. For many, voting was a de facto reflection of racial equality; by voting we honored our enslaved ancestors, and validated the struggle of those who endured the rigors of Jim Crow discrimination.
But now, race is no longer the lead-dog on the sled team when it comes to injustice and elections; in fact, the very concept of race has lost clarity! For example, simply identifying someone as “Black” has become more nuanced – a Black person now may not resonate with the struggles of slavery and Jim Crow. Our first Black President, Barack Obama, cannot identify as one descended from formerly enslaved people who suffered under Jim Crow discrimination; that’s not his legacy. Neither does the woman who may become our second Black President share that legacy and history.
They are just a sample of the large number of people who may identify as black, but who do not share the experience of have parents/grandparents descended from Africans who had been enslaved. Blackness has never been a monolith, however, and now it is even a more varied expression of culture.
In fact, race is no longer a safe identifier of political perspective nor inclination. In North Carolina (with one of the most progressive legacies for black achievement) you have Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, a black MAGA Republican, who recently said, “I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote…”
Congressman Byron Donalds, a black MAGA Republican from Florida, actually offered slight praise for the era of Jim Crow by saying “You see, during Jim Crow, the black family was together…” These two elected officials – both from the South – represent positions that would make Medgar Evers cringe in horror.
The issue of race is no longer the bellwether regarding voting – neither as a matter of demonstrating justice, nor as a matter of choosing a candidate reflecting your race. Because of that, some black people now question if they even have an ethical “duty” to head to the ballots, if they owe it to their forbears to vote. According to a report by the Brennen Center for Justice (a non-partisan think tank), there is a wide gap between the percentage of whites who vote and their black counterparts – and that gap is widening!
But the truth is that Race was only a secondary factor when it came to voting in the first place. The real issue remains what it has always been;
and that is securing Justice! In the days of slavery and Jim Crow, race was simply a tool in the hands of those willing to pervert justice in order to secure advantages and privileges for themselves. Today there are still those willing to pervert justice, and there is still a need to vote make sure that they don’t.
The tool that they use may not be race, but there are other avenues of injustice that require our attention; allow me to list a few…
Wealth Inequality
According to the Urban Institute (a trusted research non-profit), over the past 60 years, America witnessed a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthiest families, increasing wealth inequality. While in 1963, the wealthiest families had 36 times the wealth of average families, by 2022, they had 71 times the wealth of those families.
The rich continue to get richer, while selling the snow job about the pernicious “others” who are responsible for taking away our pennies – even as they squirrel away millions! But wealth inequality is a top-down problem – crafted by those who have, to stave off the aspirations of those who have not; and it is designed to maintain the status quo. The best way to change this construct is to change policies that determine how wealth flows and how resources are managed.
Voting can place people in positions to oversee these policies. More importantly, God has always sought to bring justice to inequalities of wealth and resources; His followers should do likewise.
Despising the Stranger in Need
The nation that once sang out, “give me your tired, your poor…” is now shouting with hatred to those who would seek asylum here. Our revived xenophobia is not only hypocritical – most Americans being descended from immigrants themselves – but it is also being built on a platform of lies and half-truths that fuel fear and prejudice. Let’s unpack a few…
- “Immigrants are Launching a Crimewave!”
Fact: According to the Cato Institute, U.S.-born citizens are more than twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and more than four times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. - “Immigrants Drain Society, and Contribute Nothing!”
Fact: Undocumented people pay an estimated $31 Billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year, and billions more in Social Security taxes. American Immigrant Council) - “They’re Transporting Fentanyl into the Country!”
Fact: In 2023, 93 percent of fentanyl seizures occurred at legal crossing points or vehicle check points, and U.S. citizens were overwhelmingly the traffickers (89%), and users (99%)!
The U.S. definitely needs new policies regarding immigration, but outlawing those who are simply doing what those who sailed on the Mayflower did – try to survive by finding better opportunities – is both misguided and evil. The God who demanded that we treat foreigners fairly and mercifully would want to see us vote for individuals who share that view.
Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Crime is a complex matter, and addressing it is a multi-layered operation, and it has been proven that increasing the harshness of crime and law enforcement tactics actually tends to increase crime and misbehavior.
But even more importantly, some Politicians willingly misconstrue the truth in order to scare you into supporting them. For example, many candidates bewail the supposed unbridled criminality besetting us today; but the facts are that violent crime decreased by 10.3%. Murder decreased by 22.7%, rape decreased by 17.7%, robbery decreased by 13.6%, and aggravated assault decreased by 8%!
There is a need for criminal justice; but it must be fair and balanced. We should carefully select candidates who will use the tools of criminal investigation and law enforcement to create justice – not simply punishment.
While matters of race alone may not provide the same moral push as it once did, the same spirit that fostered racism is still creating other injustices. Voting not only allows us to address inequities by selecting our leadership, as black people it still is a powerful symbol that reminds others that inequities can be corrected!
And while the color of one’s skin may not be the defining factor any longer, the need to continue to confront injustice still remains as clear as black and white.
