YSWNPY-Zine 20, final - Flipbook - Page 14
w
our vote
15
YOUR SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU 14
THEN
NOW
and
The 1960s Civil Rights Movement was my introduction to my Blackness and, inextricably so, my introduction
to politics. Being born in Atlanta and raised in the Metro/Suburban area, I spent many years - throughout my
grade school education and namely from my grandparents who were adamant about us knowing our history learning about the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Black, Southern college students who
participated in sit- ins, Freedom Rides, bus boycotts, and protests to achieve total civil rights for Black Americans. However, since attending Howard University, I’ve learned a much more holistic version of Black history
that goes beyond slavery and the Civil Rights Movement - but as a Black woman from the South the ballot box
remains a site of struggle for Black people to make our voices heard and has been since we were freed from
enslavement by the 13th Amendment. To ground the following contributed pieces, it’s important to remember
this history, the progress we’ve made, and most importantly why we must continue the fight to empower all
Black folks to use their voice in civic processes, and eliminate the systemic barriers that prevent us from doing
so. Beyond these few key moments in the history of Black voting rights lies a wealth of organizing, thought
leadership, and political setbacks and successes that illustrate the power of Black folks’ vote and political power,
and helps us to better contextualize our current struggles in 2020 as we move beyond this election.
Photo by: Afro Newspaper/Gado/Getty
