In Tampa, FL the Grand Ol’ Party held its 40th National Convention in the Sunshine State for the first time in forty years…a fact. Ironically, they chose that state because it is a huge swing state that could possibly decide the outcome of this year’s election. Also worth noting, is the number of times we heard the phrase, “Let’s go to the fact checker.” It seems like they need to do a better job. If you don’t believe me just ask the folks who wrote Paul Ryan’s speech.
The Republican Party has not made light of the fact that they are aware that the minority vote is really important in the 2012 Presidential Election. The problem is that the Grand Ol’ Party as a whole has not really done a good job at courting the minority vote. Their immigration policy is not very friendly to our Latino brothers and the attack against the Afrikan American voting voice suggests Mitt Romney and the Republican Party are hoping most of the country has forgotten American History. The fact is that almost EVERYONE who reads this article or votes in November has a relative who was alive during the 1960’s. If they are Black, they have probably heard a story like that of my grandmother who was arrested for demonstrating for Civil Rights.
The fact is that this is not the first time that America has attempted to silence the Black vote and I am not even talking about the Florida fiasco in 2000. It was not too long ago that a successful effort to systematically separate Afrikan American citizens from their basic right to vote occurred. For those who don’t remember let me help you out.
Brief history lesson: Everyone has heard of the famous Civil Rights Act of 1866 right? Oh wait…did he just say 1866? Yes I did, because ALL of America has forgotten that the original Civil Rights Act was actually passed on April 9, 1866 (I dare you to have your kid bring that one up in their next political discussion in school). Not only that, but the 15th Amendment of the Constitution guaranteeing Black American’s the right to vote was passed in 1869! In fact there was also the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which guaranteed equal rights to Black Americans in public accommodations and in service in jury.
In the book Should America Pay?: Slavery And The Raging Debate On Reparations, edited by Dr. Raymond Winbush, Harper Magazine, 2006 published an article entitled “Does America Owe a Debt to the Descendants of Its Slaves?”. In this article, on pages 104-107, a section entitled “A Legislative And Judicial History Of American Slavery And Its Aftermath,” takes a look at the history of how Black’s in America first lost their right to vote. Ironically, it started with the Compromise of 1877 which ended Reconstruction in the South and opened the door for what would lay the foundation for the climate that would lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Shortly after the 1877 compromise, in 1890, the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment forbids states, but not citizens, from discriminating against Blacks. That same year, the Mississippi Plan required Black voters to pass literacy and understanding tests, leading the efforts of Southern states to disenfranchise Black citizens. Sound familiar? Now you can see how 137 years after the first Civil Rights Act, minority voters and Americans in general 
need to be very concerned about Voter Suppression in Ohio; Voter Purging in Florida and Voter I.D. laws in Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas? More importantly, minority voters need to ask themselves a simple question: what can Black America expect a Mitt Romney administration to do about these concerns? I mean he was a Presidential Candidate in 2008 and has not voiced one ounce of opposition as his party attempts to silence minority voters in over TWENTY states!
In an article written in the Associated Press on Friday, August 31st, Suzanne Gamboa writes:
“A wave of states with Republican-controlled legislatures and governor’s offices, including South Carolina, passed voter ID laws starting last year, in time for some to take effect before the Nov. 6 elections. Critics say they are a direct response to minority turnout in 2008 that helped put Barack Obama in the White House. South Carolina was among seven states considered to have the strictest laws.”
It is very interesting to me how none of that has been mentioned by the present Republican ticket. Where were Mitt and Paul Ryan denouncing this practice in an effort to ensure all American citizens have what Mitt Romney called the “Freedom to speak their mind?” I sure did not hear any of that during the Republican National Convention. In one of the more compelling paragraphs, Mitt states:
“Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, “I’m an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!” So here we stand. Americans have a choice. A decision.”
That sounds like a good time, if any, for him to address voter rights to me. But he did not. He immediately went on to state:
“To make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where I will lead our country.”
With all due respect, Mr. Romney; and I did say “With All Due Respect,”…what American’s need “To make that choice” is not more information about you. They need their simple right to vote!
Click here to read PART 2 of this article: The Republican Party and Women