Black women rally against voter ID laws
Source: AP-Excite
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
WASHINGTON (AP) - Deidra Reese isn't waiting for people to come to her to find out whether they are registered to vote.
With iPad in hand, Reese is going to community centers, homes and churches in nine Ohio cities, looking up registrations to make sure voters have proper ID and everything else they need to cast ballots on Election Day.
"We are not going to give back one single inch. We have fought too long and too hard," said Reese, 45, coordinator of the Columbus-based Ohio Unity Coalition, an affiliate of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.
Reese is part of a cadre of black women engaged in a revived wave of voting rights advocacy four years after the historic election of the nation's first black president. Provoked by voting law changes in various states, they have decided to help voters navigate the system - a fitting role, they say, given that black women had the highest turnout of any group of voters in 2008.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120921/DA1E1G8O3.html
In this June 27, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrive at the Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The Democratic president and first lady will tape an episode of "The View" on Monday, Sept. 20, 2012 to air the next day, in their first joint appearance on the daytime show. GOP challenger Mitt Romney might not be far behind. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
BumRushDaShow
(129,440 posts)And reviving the 50+ year old civil rights exhortation - "One (man) person one vote!!". It's our right!
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)I was very happy to hear that my Aunts and their friends who volunteer for other causes like Meals On Wheels have taken the opportunity to ensure that while they're dropping off a meal or making their rounds, they'll asking people if they are registered. One of my Aunts is taking it upon herself to register people right there on the spot, bringing copies of voter registration forms and turning them in to local post offices. Another one of my Aunts had to take my grandmother to the DMV four different times because they were giving her the run around about her voter registration, needing to see her birth certificate and such. They have made it a cause to focus on the elderly in particular who cannot get to the polls and/or may not have the proper ID.
Black women have always been some of the most engaged people in politics. There would not be a civil rights movement were it not for the work that black women did behind the scenes.
I'm just so proud to hear efforts like this.
Indpndnt
(2,391 posts)I hope when this election is over, they can relax and enjoy the results, knowing they made a huge difference.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)they haven't given up and that warms my heart. They are really passionate about this election, too.
Frances
(8,547 posts)is a true hero to me
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)Elderly especially because it's hard to locate a birth certificate if not born in a hospital. other factors.. relocation more than more marriage.
White women will have those burdens, but are more likely to have lived fully on the grid. And of course fewer are poor. Having more than one marriage will make it sticky, too.