It is hard to believe, but Jim Crow is back with a vengeance, thanks to the actions of the last President of the United States. The Georgia legislature has now instituted laws that will send you to jail for bringing water or snacks to people waiting in line to vote, among other things. They have also made a state law that says, in effect, if one party wins the majority of the vote, the legislators can substitute themselves or others for those representatives who have been elected to vote as electors. The effect is to guarantee the Republicans will win the seats without ever being concerned about competition or losing. Programs like Souls to the Polls will be impossible, as the number of voting days, hours, and places have been reduced, according to the new Georgia Law. There will be no drop boxes where you can vote early, no voting after five p.m., and fewer voting machines.
There seems to be a revisiting of post-Reconstruction laws to keep black folks from voting. There must be an understanding that the Civil War has ended, The Emancipation Proclamation was instituted, and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed the right to vote for everyone. A total of forty-three states are trying to initiate laws to keep blacks, and presumably browns and Asians, from voting. It is good to see that there are whites who see the wrong being perpetrated and are joining the fight to protect American Democracy and working to substitute it with an Autocracy with a Republican installed for an indeterminate term. I heard one commentator say. “The last President is like the boyfriend you can’t get rid of. You keep looking up and there he always is.” I guess the same could be said of Jim Crow Laws, they keep popping up and need to be gotten rid of forever. To prove how evil and serious they are, the Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, had Ms. Park Cannon, a young black female Georgia Assembly person arrested when she merely knocked on his door during the signing of this draconian law. She was dragged off, by Georgia State Troopers, handcuffed and arrested, and charged with two Felonies. The signing was done in the presence of all white men and under a picture of a Slave Plantation. Governor Kemp is noted as a long-time racist, and while serving as Secretary of State, allegedly took half a million voters off the voting roles making him the winner of the Governorship of Georgia. Citizens have initiated Lawsuits and are discussing boycotting major corporations with headquarters in Georgia. Corporations being considered include Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, PGA, NFL, and Home Depot building supplies. It is heartbreaking to see the renewal of Jim Crow Laws and seeing efforts to begin legalized discrimination against black people in this land of the free. Must we always begin fighting the same battles over and over? In addition, donate money to: NAACP Legal Defense Fund | Protect Voting Rights | naacpldf.org, https://www.wsgw.com/georgia-naacp-and-voting-rights-groups-challenge-states-new-voting-law/, or THE NEW GEORGIA PROJECT: Helping Georgians Get Registered https://newgeorgiaproject.org. Contact. 830 Glenwood Ave. SE, Suite 510-221, Atlanta, GA 30316 | (404) 996-6621. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | 2020 © The New Georgia Project. |
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