[1]Voting While Black

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Happy Juneteenth, John! I’d like to share why it’s vitally
important to honor our ancestral fight for Black freedom. 

In your grade school classes, you were likely taught that enslaved Black
people were granted freedom when President Abraham Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.^1 Unfortunately, we were
spoonfed an oversimplified revisionist history.

The truth is, President Lincoln intended to preserve the Union rather than
abolish slavery in its entirety.^2 The Emancipation Proclamation states
"that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and
henceforward shall be free."^3 What this truly means is that slavery was
fully intact among southern states and the promise of slavery abolition
was dependent on a Civil War victory, which occurred in April 1865. 

Time and time again, the promise of our ancestors’ freedom has been
delayed, contingent, and deprioritized. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865,
when 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas that emancipation
became a truer reality. There, the army announced that over 250,000 Black
enslaved people were granted freedom via executive decree.^4 

Juneteenth commemorates the day when the last enslaved Black people in
Texas were finally granted freedom according to law. Although slavery
legally ended, uninhibited freedom still has not become a reality for all
Black people in the United States. Our ancestors were taunted and lynched
profusely by white supremacist individuals and organizations like the KKK
during the Reconstruction era. Then Jim Crow laws turned Black people into
second-class citizens through enforced racial segregation until 1965 with
the passing of the Voting Rights Act. And today, we are experiencing
police brutality, redlining, voter suppression, and mass incarceration
simultaneously.

[ [link removed] ]Our history is rife with injustice and we've got a ways to go before
all Black people are free from systemic racism. But now more than ever, I
encourage you to honor and celebrate the legacy of Black resilience and
freedom by making sure you and your community members are registered to
vote.

I cannot promise that voting will immediately solve inequities Black
people experience every day in this country. But it is one of the best
ways we can use our voices to elect leaders that are accountable to Black
communities and understand that we need change now.

We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams. Let’s take that dream even further
and envision a world where all Black lives not only matter, but are
cherished and protected equally.  

[ [link removed] ]CONFIRM YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION

[ [link removed] ]REGISTER 5 OF YOUR FRIENDS NOW

 

Until justice is real, 

Jenni, Drew, Charles, Cristel, Tammi, Alex, Scotty, Daniel and the Color
Of Change PAC team

References: 

1.
[ [link removed])%20passed%20Congress. ][link removed])%20passed%20Congress.

2. [ [link removed] ][link removed]

3. [ [link removed] ][link removed]

4. [ [link removed] ][link removed]


 

 


 
Paid Pol. Adv. paid for by ColorOfChange PAC, 1714 Franklin St., Oakland, CA 94612, independently of and not authorized or approved by any federal, state, or local candidate or candidate’s committee.

Color Of Change PAC is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Contributions to Color Of Change PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

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