Toggle Menu
Greater Diversity News Homepage
  • Latest Jobs
    • Search Jobs
    • Send Advertisements/Jobs
    • Weekly PDF Editions
    • Subscribe to Print Edition
  • Books of Knowledge
    • Latest Books
    • Get Started: Reading Order
  • A Call to Colors
    • A Call to Colors Articles
    • About Civic Engagement Project
    • Civic Engagement Headlines
    • The Network for 2018
    • About Economic Equity
    • Economic Equity Headlines
    • GDN eNews Archives
  • Student Engagement
  • Subscribe
    • Subscribe to Print
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • eNews Archives
  • Virtual Events
  • Eastern NC
  • Sections/Archives
    • Latest Headlines
    • GDN eNews Archives
    • Books of Knowledge
    • Civic Engagement Headlines
    • Economic Equity Headlines
    • NAACP News
    • Print PDF Archives
    • All GDN Posts
  • Contact Us
    • General Questions
    • Send Advertisements
    • Contact GDN Sales
    • About GDN Products
    • Advertise
ACTC ACTC

Emmett Till, Violence, Voting Rights and Education Policy

by Lynette Monroe (NNPA Newswire Guest Columnist) September 28, 2018

 

Emmett Louis “Bobo” Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955). He was a fourteen year old African-American from Chicago, Illinois who went to stay for the summer with his uncle, Moses Wright in Money, Mississippi. (Photos: Wikimedia Commons)

August 28th, marked the day, 63 years ago, when Emmett Till was savagely beaten and lynched in Mississippi. It is the same day, 8 years later, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his immortal “I Have a Dream” speech. Ten years ago, on that day, then candidate Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. On August 28th of this year, Florida elected its first Black gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Andrew Gillum.

Despite the horror of Emmett Till’s murder in 1955, August 28thhas marked a date of victory and progress for Blacks in America. Many of these victories were obtained by Blacks showing up to the polls.

However, these change-making triumphs were — and often still are — met with retaliation from those that benefit most from the status quo.  Therefore, we must remain vigilant in securing unprecedented Black voter participation in the 2018 elections by exercising our constitutional right to vote — a right the current administration has failed to protect.

During the White House’s first press briefing following President Trump’s visit to Helsinki, April Ryan questioned Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about voter suppression and election meddling. The White House failed to state a clear position.

It is up to each of us as Americans to decide whether or not the United States will protect from foreign and domestic adversaries. Ensuring that our right, as citizens, to vote in free and fair elections is secure. However, history reminds us that the U.S. has a poor record of protecting those rights for all of its citizens — especially when those citizens are African Americans.

Fortunately, forewarned is forearmed. Our opponents have not changed their tactics. The enemies of justice have always known this fact that education is inextricably tied to freedom: Our right to read is as fundamental as our right to vote.

Brown vs. the Board of Education, the famous Supreme Court decision which declared school segregation unconstitutional, was rendered in 1954. In 1956, just two years after Brown, Look magazine published the confessions of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, the men acquitted for the brutal murder of Emmett Till. In the article, Milam indicated that school integration and voting rights were motives for his violent behavior.

“As long as I live and can do anything about it,” Milam said, “Niggers are gonna stay in their place. Niggers ain’t gonna vote where I live. If they did, they’d control the government. They ain’t gonna go to school with my kids.”

While the tactics and techniques employed are no longer as violent and blatant as Milam and Bryant’s, the intent to suppress Black votes and simultaneously limit access to an equitable education continues into the 21stcentury.

In 2012, measured against the population, the percentage of Black voter participation surpassed that of Whites. In 2013, just one year later, the Supreme Court voted to void section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing nine, mostly southern and historically discriminatory states, to change their election laws without advance federal approval. Immediately, Texas re-enacted a previously blocked voter identification law and began making plans for redistricting.

In 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law. ESSA is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and is designed to ensure access to high-quality education for all children regardless of the color of their skin, geographic location, or socioeconomic status. A major distinction between this law and earlier reauthorizations is that it grants each state the power to develop the academic standards and evidenced-based interventions that best fit the needs of their population.

ESSA represents an opportunity to establish a more equitable playing field but the Trump administration’s 2019 federal budget proposes cutting $3 billion from the Education Departmentwhile investing over a billion dollars in school choice programs. The risk to equitable education: More than 90 percent of students in the United States attend public schools, and, as of 2014, attendance in America’s public schools is majority-minority.

In June of this year, the Supreme Court upheld Ohio’s right to purge voting rollsif voters have failed to participate in recent elections and fail to respond to a notice from election officials. Nationwide initiatives to clear inactive voters from the rolls are thinly veiled attempts to reduce “widespread voter fraud,” enacted by several Republican-controlled legislatures, despite overwhelming datathat establishes that voter fraud I essentially non-existent.

Opponents of justice realize that access to education enhances the prospect that citizens will exercise our voting rights. The ethical lapses and physical violence that often arise as a result of progress in these areas is no coincidence. To combat voter suppression, the National Newspaper Publishers Association  (NNPA), in partnership with other civil rights groups, has launched a campaign to drive 5 million additional Black voters to the polls.

In his remarks to the attendees of the NAACP’s convention in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., NNPA President and CEO, remarked that much of what is happening in Washington, D.C. today, “is in reaction to our going to the polls and voting. Voter suppression is taking place because we are voting.”

Lynette Monroe is the program assistant for the NNPA’s Every Student Succeeds Act Public Awareness Campaign and a master’s student at Howard University. Her research areas are public policy and national development. Follow Lynette on Twitter @_monroedoctrine.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related Civic Engagement Headlines Articles

Similar Posts From Civic Engagement Headlines Category
North Carolina Could Boost Voter Turnout by More than 225,000, The Problem of Low Voter Participation

North Carolina Could Boost Voter Turnout by More than 225,000, The Problem of Low Voter Participation

July 11, 2018
Voter Suppression:  An Existential Threat to Democracy

Voter Suppression: An Existential Threat to Democracy

August 1, 2014
Right-Wing Pundits and Politicians Exploiting Mollie Tibbetts’s Death to Push ‘Profoundly Racist’ Agenda

Right-Wing Pundits and Politicians Exploiting Mollie Tibbetts’s Death to Push ‘Profoundly Racist’ Agenda

September 5, 2018


Greater Diversity News Print Edition

Latest Jobs & Bids

Click here to send us your ad and get more information about advertising, or call Kathy Grear at 800-462-0738, cell: 910-617-4542.

  1. Southeastern Community College

    Child Development Center Teacher (Part Time) EMS Lead Instructor Information Systems Specialist

  2. City of Statesville, NC

    Public Utilities Department Water Resources Division: Water Treatment Plant Operator Grade C (Night Shift)

  3. Yates Construction Co. Inc.

    Town of Kernersville Kerners Mill Creek Greenway

  4. Nash County Public Schools

    “New Facility for Replacement Elementary School”

  5. North Carolina National Guard

    McLeansville Regional Readiness Center

  6. Monteith Construction

    Durham Fire Station & EMS No. 18 (Spanish Version)

  7. Monteith Construction

    Durham Fire & EMS Station No. 18 project

  8. Franklin County Schools

    Professional Design Services for a feasibility study for a possible Franklinton Elementary School Replacement Project

  9. The Christman Company

    Alamance Community College – Biotechnology Center in Graham, NC

  10. The Christman Company

    Sandhills Community College – Kennedy Hall Renovation & Addition in Pinehurst, NC

  11. Barnhill Contracting Company

    NCDOT Contract: #DA00494 Currituck County – Shoreline Stabilization Along Knotts Island Causeway

  12. Barnhill Contracting Company

    NCDOT Contract:  #DA00490 Tyrrell & Washington County – Guardrail Replacement, Milling & Resurfacing of US 64 in Tyrrell & Washington County

  13. A.R. Chesson Construction

    Manns Harbor Shipyard Main Building HVAC

  14. UNC Greensboro

    UNCG Walker Avenue Parking Deck – Girder Repairs project (NCSCO ID # 17-16775-01B)

  15. Beco, Inc.

    GTCC Auto Body Building Generator Power

  16. City of Lumberton

    Airport Manager

  17. Terry’s Plumbing and Utilities, Inc.

    Demolition Hurricane Florence Project- Moore County, NC

  18. H&M Constructors

    Macon County Middle School Renovations Franklin, North Carolina

  19. Edifice, LLC

    CMS Lansdowne Elementary School in Charlotte, NC

  20. NC Dept. of Natural & Cultural Resources

    The Eno River State Park Visitor Contact Station and Maintenance Building

  21. NC Department of Transportation  

    South Ferry Landing Building Repairs project

  22. NC Wildlife Resources Commission

    Wildlife Resources Commission Bolivia Depot – Office & Storage Building SCO # 19-20580-01A

  23. Buchanan and Sons, Inc.

    French Broad River Greenway West Project (City Project Name: 298-U-5019B-FBRGW) located in Buncombe County, NC

  24. Barnhill Contracting/Holt Brothers a Design Build Joint Venture

    Wilson Academy of Applied Technology project in Wilson, NC

  25. NC Department of Transportation

    (C204593) Perquimans; (C204434) Craven; (C204449) Pender, Duplin; C204535) Duplin; (C204534) Duplin; (C204489) Halifax;

  26. North Carolina Department of Public Safety

    Wake County: ABC Commission Warehouse Rack Additions

  27. North Carolina Department of Public Safety

    Warren County: C-C11386 Warren CI Chiller Replacement

  28. North Carolina Department of Public Safety

    Bladen County out for bid: C Elizabethtown LED Project

  29. North Carolina Department of Public Safety

    Hyde County out for bid: C11371 Water Tower Restoration

  30. A. R. Chesson Construction

    Manns Harbor Shipyard Main Building HVAC

  31. Richmond Community College

    Cafe– Restaurant Assistant Manager Mathematics Instructor Financial Aid Specialist, Enrollment Management Coordinator

  32. NHM Constructors, LLC

    02/03/21:  DM00287 Rutherford – Replace Bridge 167 (SR-1007 Andrew Mills Rd over Roberson Creek)

  33. North Carolina Department of Transportation

    Design-Build Request For Qualifications (RFQ) Design-Build Teams submit qualifications for an Express Design-Build Project. This project is located in Division 11 and includes the replacement of three structures

  34. Haren Construction Company, Inc.

    Monroe, NC – SP105 Crooked Creek WRF Process Impvs. Project

  35. East Carolina University

    “College Hill Drive Steam Replacement Phase 2” Project, SCO ID# 20-21927-01A, ECU # AiM CP 1692, DEI # 50132381

  36. Clancy & Theys Construction Company

    Sampson County Public Safety Center

  37. Bar Construction Co., Inc.

    Orange County Facilities Renovations in Hillsborough, NC

  38. Bar Construction Co., Inc.

    Family Justice Center in Wentworth, NC

  39. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

    Rhodes Pond Dam Repair (SCO #13-10039-02B)

  40. Montgomery County

    Little River Water Line Crossing at Pekin Rd.

  41. Lomax Construction, Inc.

    Cameron Park Elementary School, Hillsborough, NC

  42. Barnhill Contracting

    New Construction of the Sampson County 911 & E.S. Facilities located in Clinton, NC

  43. Barnhill Contracting Company

    NCDOT Milling & Resurfacing on US 264, WBS 2021CPT.02.16.10741 (DB00498), Pitt County, NC

  44. Barnhill Contracting Company

    NCDOT Milling & Resurfacing on Various Primary and Secondary Routes, WBS 2021CPT.04.13.10421, 2021CPT.04.13.20421 (DD00341), Halifax County, NC

  45. Smith-Rowe, LLC

    Forsyth County Kerners Mill Creek Greenway

  46. Housing Authority of the City of Wilmington North Carolina

    Houston Moore Renovations / Rehabilitation Lifespan Extension

  47. Columbus County Schools

    Announcement Of Pre-Proposal Meeting Concerning Rigging And Equipment Renovations For Auditoriums At South Columbus And East Columbus High Schools And Bidding Procedures

  48. Wake County Public School System

    Wake Forest High School Stadium Renovation

  49. H.M. Kern Corporation

    NCDPS Albemarle Correctional Accessible Cells project

  50. H.M. Kern Corporation

    NC A&T Fume Hood Replacements project

  51. H.M. Kern Corporation

    Orange County Facilities Renovations project

  52. H.M. Kern Corporation

    Randolph County Clerk of Court Office Renovations project

  53. Haren Construction Company, Inc.

    Lawndale, NC – Cleveland Co. Water WTP Clearwell, High Service Pump Station, and Water Line Project

  54. Sandhills Community College

    Sandhills Community College Kennedy Hall Renovation & Addition (SCO # 19-20074-02A)

  55. Thomas Construction Group

    Sampson County 911 & ES Facilities project in Clinton, NC

  56. Gaston County

    Gaston County Finance Office and Tax Mapping Renovations and Tax Mapping Renovations

  57. Sharpe Brothers

    North Carolina Department of Administration (HUB) or the NCDOT within North Central North Carolina Counties for the City of Greensboro – Summit Avenue Streetscape project

  58. Sharpe Brothers

    NCDOT Asphalt Resurfacing Project NCDOT project DG00505 Widening and Resurfacing of 24 miles of Roadway in Guilford County

  59. New Atlantic Contracting, Inc.

    Sampson County 911 and Emergency Services Facilities

  60. Smith-Rowe, LLC

    Sampson County Bridge #9 Over South River Overflow on US 13 Grading, Drainage, Paving & Structure


tetsaro
actc video
Banner

  • Refund Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Job Posting
  • GDN eNews Subscription for Economic Equity Updates

Designed by Raibach Inc.

© 2017 Copyright Greater Diversity News. All Rights reserved.

  Close Window

Loading, Please Wait!

This may take a second or two. Loading
SUBSCRIBE
Processing...
Thank you! Your subscription has been confirmed. You'll hear from us soon.
Subscribe to Get Updates and the Latest Headlines
Email updates sent weekly on Voter Engagement, Economic Equity, and weekly Job Postings.
ErrorHere
Powered By Campaign Monitor