BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2023

A GLANCE AT HOW MUCH FURTHER WE HAVE TO GO (CONTINUED)

Congressional Reconstruction: A decade of political and economic uplift for formerly enslaved people in the United States. Between 1867 and 1877, more than 600 African Americans served in state legislatures throughout the South. Moreover, 16 African Americans served in Congress during Reconstruction, including two U.S. senators, Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce.

Source: Encyclopedia Brittanica

“I think one of the reasons that it’s so timely to learn about Black political leaders during Reconstruction is because we have an unprecedented wave of new laws that are meant to suppress voters specifically AfricanAmerican voters in some cases in order to ensure that African-American voices are not adequately heard in the political process,” says William Sturkey, associate professor of History at the University of North Carolina.

According to the most recent research on voting laws by the Brennan Center for Justice, Between January 1 and September 12, 2022, at least 7 states enacted 10 restrictive voting laws which make it harder to vote by mail, establish or expand documentary proof of citizenship requirements, impose new photo ID requirements, limit Election Day registration, and make it more difficult for individuals without traditional addresses — such as voters living on tribal lands and homeless voters —to register to vote.

Source: Time Magazine