The President's Corner

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

RESTORE THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT…NOW!

By Dr. Charles Steele Jr., SCLC National President & CEO

Restore the Voting Rights Act…Now! I have been screaming this since 2013 when the Supreme Court struck down section four and section five of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court voted to take out the crucial part of the legislation that designates states to be pre-cleared before making any changes to districts with a history of racial discrimination. Section four and five was the heart of the Voting Rights Act, and it was gutted. When section four and five was gutted from the Voting Rights Act, that took away all of our rights for freedom. This particular section was the catalyst which led the way to all of our civil rights. This means we have gone back to state rights, which means states can return to their wrong doings of the past. Now let’s talk about Georgia…Republican law makers in Georgia are trying to enact new restrictions on voting access. This would essentially make it harder for African-American voters and people of color to vote.

No, no, no…not Jim Crow! Not this time, we’ve come too far to allow Jim Crow to stick its ugly head up. We will not sit back and allow the weed of destruction to destroy the lawn from which our ancestors have died to grow and protect. Our weed killer is faith, justice, peace and non-violent protesting. After we get rid of the weeds we then must apply a fertilizer called non-complacency. See, complacency will destroy everything you have accomplished. We must not become complacent or we will look up and have the weeds of Jim Crow taking over our lawn of hope, justice and peace. We cannot afford the clock to be turned back in terms of us being first class citizens. We deserve to continue to be protected by the federal government like we have been for almost 50 years. If we do not have this protection we are destined to repeat our past. I am constantly reminded of our responsibility to ensure the sacrifices of people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmie Lee Jackson, Amelia Boynton, James Bevel, John Lewis, Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Rev. C.T. Vivian and many others are not in vain.

As disappointed as I am in the gutting of section four and five of the Voting Rights Act, I am equally encouraged by the young people in this country. We cannot ignore the Black Lives Matter movement and in this particular case the Black Voters Matter voting rights organization. The co-founder LaTosha Brown who was born in Selma, Alabama works tirelessly on issues that pertain to social justice and political empowerment in the African-American community. I want to highlight LaTosha because it is people like LaTosha Brown who continue to carry on the legacy of Dr. King, SCLC and the many others who fought for voting rights of the disenfranchised in this country. Our work is not over and it will

never be finished. I want to encourage the young and the old to keep fighting the good fight. Your work is not in vain and your efforts are appreciated and noticed.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) has always fought for the right to vote and be heard. The SCLC national has traveled the country raising awareness and registering people to vote for over 50 years. In the political year of 2020 we had our foot soldiers in every corner of the United States making a foot print across the country. Particularly in Georgia where SCLC helped to turn out the vote. I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight the work of Stacy Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keishia Lance Bottoms for their leadership role in helping to elect President Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Jon Osoff and U.S Senator Rafael Warnock.

SCLC will continue to fight suppression efforts around the country while actively engaging voters to keep making their voices heard at the polls. Let’s keep making noise!

Courage

Why live in the past if it creates pain Why subject your heart to stress and strain Your goals are a part of your soul Be ambitious never let them grow cold Gaze at a mountain with a desire to reach the top Life will present obstacles, stay determined never stop Look at the ocean with an appetite to swim, Have a vision that’s never dim. The eagle that soars across the sky, Also encourage her young to fly Never embrace doubt, for time won’t let you forget, That your decision to reach perfection, you’ll never regret.

Leonard Blount Copyright© 2017

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

TRIBUTE TO MRS. MARGARET MOORE, SELMA, ALABAMA

By Dr. Bernard Lafayette, SCLC Chairman

According to Merriam-Webster, racism is defined as: 1.) a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race, and

2.) the systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another.

Here are a few questions to ponder as move into Springtime: Is racism a virus? Does one inherit the attitudes and beliefs listed above? Is racism a derivative of nature or of nurture? Is racism based in fear? If so, of what is one afraid? Is the fear of losing “white supremacy” at the root of racism?

Eight people, six of them Asian women, were killed on Tuesday, March 16, in a string of shootings at Atlanta-area spas. A white male has been arrested and charged with the killings. FBI director Christopher Wray stated that “it does not appear that the motive was racially motivated,” but deferred to the state and local investigation on that for now. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN, “It looked like a hate crime to me.” Was the impetus behind the murders based in racism?

CNN reports that the month of March is National Women’s History month. Since women are pretty historic year-round, why then is this month significant to women’s history? International Women’s Day is March 8, and it has been observed in some form since 1911. In the 1970’s we began celebrating Women’s History Week.

The movement was so popular, people began lobbying for a more formal observance and in 1980, President Jimmy Carter designated the first official National Women’s History Week, beginning on March 8 of that year. States began declaring the whole month of March as Women’s History Month, and Congress declared March 1987 as the first official Women’s History Month.

When I first arrived in Selma, back in 1963, I moved in with a schoolteacher, Mrs. Margaret Moore, and her family until an apartment became available. Mrs. Moore was a master’s level teacher and had lived in Selma for many years. She owned rental property and graciously opened her home. I enjoyed her superb cooking, as well as her intelligent conversation and insightful thinking. As a by-product of my new living arrangement I became concerned about her safety and her involvement in the movement. Because I was there to mount the Voter Registration Campaign, this generated hostile feelings on the part of many whites. But not once did she show fear or discomfort. In her