Operation Silence: Stage One: (Un)Vote Here!

Operation Silence: Stage One: (Un)Vote Here!

Preemptive Strike

When I was a young child I remember attending elementary school in Queens, NY, and being told that voting rights were important. I was told that hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, struggled, fought and died for others to have the right to vote. I was taught about a man named Martin Luther King Jr. and about his efforts, as well as others, to “win” voting rights for the Black and Brown people in this country. All history lessons that I believed in. Until the summer of 2013.

On Tuesday, June 25th, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled on Shelby County v. Holder. The ruling effectively “gutted” Section 4 (S4) a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, which struck down most of the old Jim Crow restrictions that prevented Black people from voting. The same Act that I was taught leveled the playing field for Black and Brown people in this country regarding voting rights was essentially thrown out.  In a 5-4 ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “things have changed dramatically”, thus making the need for S4 obsolete. However, the reality is quite the opposite.

Since the striking down of S4 states like Texas, South Carolina and Florida have implemented voter laws that are disgustingly discriminatory and targets predominantly low-income Black and Brown people. S4 road-blocked these laws from being passed, however, since last year these states and others are moving aggressively to pass and implement these laws.

Additionally, people who have felony convictions may lose their voting rights while on probation or parole and in some states all-together. It is no coincidence that the same demographic that is negatively impacted by the striking down of S4, are also grossly over-impacted by the criminal punishment system (More about this in my next post).

Battleground

Denying access to voting rights is one of multiple battle fronts where Black and Brown voices are being targeted for silence. From a historical perspective the need to mis-educate, mislead, and misinform the Black and Brown masses has been an ongoing war that has been covert, and sometimes overt, yet the war continues.

How does that occur today you may ask? Through a continuous bombardment of our senses. Television (or should I say Tell-a-lie-vision) shows such as Bad Girls Club, The Real housewives of whatever county that they choose, Love and Hip-Hop, use of terms like Ratchet, thug, Ni*&a, etc. are all sources of media and culture that fuel a flawed perception that Black and Brown people hate, envy, talk about, and overall scheme on one another constantly. Thus, giving a general perception that these shows are a reflection of the average Black and Brown family.

Further, our money culture has become so warped (by design) that we place value on items that are completely above our financial means with the hope that these items will give us a sense of “eliteness” or “belonging” or “validation”. Clothing brands such as True Religion, Louis Vuitton, Louboutin a.k.a. red bottoms, to name a few, are all clothing brands that are coveted in our culture and neighborhoods, yet are all owned by the mega-rich, who ironically DO NOT design their clothing primarily for us. Yet, the association with having these things distracts us from the real issues that are eroding our culture.

Victory?…

Why attack voting rights? Simple. With the impending end of President Obama’s two-terms the presidential election of 2016 is set to be a battle for Republicans and Democrats, even more so for Republicans, as it is widely anticipated that Hilary Clinton will run and win the Democratic Nomination and go on to give any Republican candidate a run for their money. With lame attempts by McCain-Palin in 2008 and Romney-Ryan in 2012, the Republican Party is aiming to and achieving the degradation of the Black and Brown vote, thus creating odds that are in their favor as majority of us vote Democrat. Also, losing the right to vote essentially makes a person a second-class citizen, who is basically forced to sit back and watch the political process. While some may say that an individual vote does not count, the right to vote should be freely given and maintained without threat of coercion and systemic discrimination that stems from a voter ID law or a felony conviction.

However, the dark tone of this post comes with a silver-lining. The masses are organizing against the GOP’s plans. Movements such as Moral Mondays, Occupy Wall Street, election of politicians that are outside of the two primary parties are all signs that the general public are awakening and spreading the word about the actions of the GOP. In part two of this three part series I will be discussing the criminal punishment system and its effects on the Black and Brown communities; the vicarious trauma that comes from incarceration; and how the prison industrial complex chews up and spits out our young men and women at alarming rates. Until then…continue the resistance.

You can follow Khalil on Twitter or email him at kcumberbatch@kinetic-solutions.org.