November 26, 2017
In the recurring nightmare that is current life in these United States, we awaken each day to new proof that our government is in the grip of a corrupt, narcissistic, small minded bigot, whose only consistent goal is to insult, offend and punish people of color. Although Black people are long used to government that is at best, indifferent, and at worst, actively hostile, to our interests, America has not had a president this dedicated to reversing progress for African Americans since Woodrow Wilson screened “Birth of a Nation” at The White House.Two recent news stories offer stark evidence of just how far this administration is willing to go to strip people of color of our basic rights. Yesterday’s New York Times details the ongoing efforts of conservative advocacy groups to “clean up” state voter rolls. Although they purportedly aim to prevent the nonexistent crime of voter fraud, their real goal is to disenfranchise Black and Latino voters. These advocates zealously pursue approaches that deprive African Americans and Latinos of their right to vote.
Historically, the resistance to African American enfranchisement has been so fierce that it required two Constitutional amendments (the 15th and the 24th) nearly a century apart, to combat it. Despite two amendments, intransigence proved so severe that the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, merely a year after passage of the 24th Amendment. Until it was gutted in 2013 by the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the Voting Rights Act succeeded in combatting the most extreme disenfranchisement efforts. Since Shelby, voter suppression tactics have mushroomed throughout the country, necessitating numerous court battles.That is the lens through which we should view Ohio’s establishment of a scheme which purges anyone who skipped one election cycle and failed to mail confirmation of their current address, from the rolls. Their attempt to condition a fundamental right on an opt–in requirement is a perversion of democracy. The fact that the Trump Justice Department has filed an amicus brief siding with Ohio in the Supreme Court case speaks volumes about its hostility to the Constitutional rights of people of color (Source: “Culling Voter Rolls: Battling Over Who Even Gets to Go to the Polls,” by Michael Wines, The New York Times, 11/25/17).
This is completely consistent with serial perjurer and committed racist Jeff Sessions’ dedicated pursuit of draconian policies designed to inflict maximum harm on communities of color. Sessions has directed Justice Department prosecutors to seek the harshest penalties available under law, a policy that will advance mass incarceration, rather than justice. He has retreated from federal oversight of police departments with a history of brutality and abuse. Sessions has made no secret of his antipathy to immigrants and has hawkishly pursued an array of anti-Latino policies from rescinding DACA to his efforts to withdraw federal funding from sanctuary cities (Source: “While eyes are on Russia, Sessions radically reshapes the Justice Department,” by Matt Zapotosky and Sari Horwitz, The Washington Post, 11/24/17).
The heartbreaking dystopia facing undocumented immigrants is on display in Atlanta. Although the Atlanta area is home to significant numbers of undocumented immigrants working in construction and hospitality, it is also a Republican led state where three area county jails have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, agreeing to turn over any undocumented immigrants that land in their custody. Since Trump took office, there has been an 80% increase in ICE arrests in Georgia and the Carolinas over the prior year and a New York Times’ analysis of one month of arrests in Gwinnett County found that 2/3 of the arrests were for traffic violations (Source: “’Please God, Don’t Let Me Get Stopped’: Around Atlanta, No Sanctuary for Immigrants,” by Vivian Yee, The New York Times, 11/25/17).
It is no accident that people of color in this country feel under siege. The entire machinery of government has been weaponized against us, attacking our very existence as Americans. Although all of us are in a battle for the soul of this country, some of us are in the fight of our lives.