by E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com)—When one considers the events of last week, there is a significant question that thoughtful Americans are asking without the benefit of a cogent answer. What has this world come to when women seeking basic human rights are placed in handcuffs and charged $50.00 of their hard-earned money to pay the police who arrested them?
Last Thursday, I am sure that seeing Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, the Chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, in handcuffs was a sight that brought extreme emotional discomfort to women and men across this nation. It sparked memories of a time that most of us thought had ended. We were reminded of those times when peaceful protest for Constitutionally guaranteed rights was met with mindless and ruthless violence —both physical and psychological. We were reminded of just how little control we have over how our bodies are handled or mishandled and the lack of protection we possess against brutality and mistreatment directed at us.
Adding insult to injury, Congresswoman Beatty was arrested inside a Congressional office building where she had every right to be. She and the balance of women who accompanied her and were arrested with her were in that location to petition their government, as guaranteed in the Constitution, for the protection of the most fundamental and meaningful right of citizenship—the right to vote.
For all who will see, voter suppression efforts—locally and nationally —by the Republican Party are an existential threat to the principles of democracy we strive to perfect. Congresswoman Beatty and the activists with her reacted viscerally to what they perceived as the in-your-face erosion of rights already won through the struggles of those who preceded us.
Before making his transition, Dick Gregory warned us that we needed to “Wake Up and Stay Woke.” I believe he could foretell that the blinders of complacency that we placed over our own eyes would prevent timely awareness of the social doom that is advancing upon us. The creature comforts of the limited integration of our recent history led us to mistakenly believe that we have “made it.” Because we’ve used our votes effectively in the past few election cycles, we mistakenly believe it is still the sacrosanct commodity of participatory citizenship owned by every citizen of this nation. Instead, through open eyes, we see that most valued element of citizenship wrestled from our collective grasp by the manipulation of immoral and unethical laws.
At one point, politicians of every stripe and patriotic citizens across the land would shout the necessity of the right to vote and that fair and open elections were essential. Those declarations now ring hollow as the true nature of these politicians and patriots come to light. It is abundantly clear that as the political will of people of color begins to shift the balance of political, social, and economic power, our votes are deemed unwanted and unnecessary.
Like pre-civil rights bigots, Republicans and others who see a fairer distribution of opportunity as a personal threat and affront to their personal welfare are doing everything within their power to remove or diminish the impact of our voting rights. They no longer even pretend to embrace the principles of fairness.
Like fights staged between enslaved men, Georgia has even taken a page from an old racist playbook. They’re encouraging one “acceptable” Black man (Herschel Walker) to run against the “unacceptable” Black man (Senator Raphael Warnock)! I declare this sham to be a failure! Even without awareness of Walker’s devotion to trump, we know the difference between the two!
The mistake of those who would deceive us is one often made from a position of perceived superiority. They underestimate our awareness and our willingness to fight.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams is president of the National Congress of Black Women.)
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