EDITORIAL
Fighting Against COVID, Fighting for Voting Rights on Jan. 17 Dr. Reed Tuckson is relentless about the COVID-19 virus. He is unmistakably clear that everyone, especially Black Americans, needs to take the COVID-19 vaccine and the booster, too. Tuckson is the vigilant leader of Blacks Against COVID-19, a national organization that provides trustworthy, reliable and relatable information to minority communities on all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization states that it also arranges direct services in the Washington, D.C. region and nationally. Dr. Tuckson did not mince his words this week, as well, when he warned members of the MLK Holiday DC Committee of the repercussions of holding a march into Ward 8. Residents of Ward 8, he reminded them, represent the area with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in D.C., the highest number of deaths resulting from COVID-19 and the area with the lowest number of residents vaccinated. His words reverberated loudly throughout the planning of the MLK Holiday DC events. Organizers pondered if their decision to host a march was irresponsible. How would they keep people safe from COVID-19 or the Omicron variant, and what message could they leave encouraging Ward 8 residents to fight the pandemic with all their might? We agree with Dr. Tuckson that COVID-19 must be taken seriously and that it is a deadly disease. If masks, social distancing and taking the vaccine protect lives, then wear a mask, keep your distance and take the doggone vaccine. A strong message needs to remind residents that the deaths of COVID-19 in D.C. are mostly among Black people of all ages. And that they must take all precautions to help stop the spread of the virus. We also agree with Martin Luther King, III, who has asked all Americans to join him in the fight on the holiday named after his beloved father to fight for voting rights. January 17 is the day that members of the Senate may vote on two voting rights bills and help to restore the Voting Rights Act. During a speech in Atlanta Tuesday, President Joe Biden said, “The United States Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act in recent years. And now the defeated former president and his supporters use the Big Lie about the 2020 election to fuel torrent and torment and anti-voting laws — new laws designed to suppress your vote, to subvert our elections. “I believe that the threat to our democracy is so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills, debate them and vote. Let the majority prevail. And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this.” We share the sentiment that all efforts must be made to stop the COVID-19 virus from killing our community. And we also understand that a strong message must be sent to protect every American’s right to vote. Both issues can be addressed together on one day, demanding that those who have the power and the ability must restore voting rights while protecting themselves from COVID-19. It can be done. It must be done. On January 17, it will be done. WI
Voting Should Be a Guaranteed Right for All Americans As Americans look to the midterm elections this fall, one thing that remains abundantly clear is the degree to which some lawmakers and citizens alike will go to keep “some people” from freely and easily exercising their Constitutional right to vote. But before we get too engrossed in debates and arguments lodged at the “doorkeepers of white privilege” or other “privileged groups,” it might be prudent to take a fresh look at American history. When the Founding Fathers were establishing this country, while they were adamant that they wanted to secure a nation built on the premises of democracy, they also held fast to the notion that voting should not be a privilege for everyone. In fact, history reminds us that only white men who owned property were considered to have the intellectual prowess needed to objectively chose their elected leaders. Women were not allowed to vote. Slaves and then, former slaves, were not allowed to vote. Other distinctions would later be made between those who had the “right” to vote and those who should be and were denied the right to vote, like those convicted of a felony and sentenced to jail. The list has grown over time. And yet, America has continued to proclaim itself as a democratic society where “all men [and women?] are created equal.
TO THE EDITOR Winter Wonderland
The Truth Behind Jan. 6
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I, for one, enjoyed the blanket of snow the D.C. area received last week. So much so that I went out in the snow with my grandkids and had a grand old time, and we took plenty of pictures. Afterward, we had hot chocolate and pizza! It was a simple but joyful day out in nature’s snow. Long story short: I love the snow!
It’s been a year since the January 6 insurrection, and now we must live that modern travesty over and over. All of the media and talking heads are talking around what went on and are scared to say that “racists” stormed the capital and quite forcibly said, “to hell with democracy.” They said this is “our” country, and we do what we want with minimum consequences, if any.
Timothy Williams Washington, D.C.
Annetta Griffin Washington, D.C.
It’s clearly a paradox. And the irony we face today is just how many of our elected officials believe, or at least profess to believe, that voting is more of a privilege than a right. There are many things that are positive about our nation and how we treat one another. But there are also many things that illustrate our xenophobia, prejudice, bigotry and hatred for “the other.” It’s time that Americans stop “talking the talk” and begin to “walk the walk.” Voting is an essential element in American citizenship. It is the way we the people express our desires, our needs, our likes and our dislikes. And no matter what one’s race, creed, religion,
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
gender, education or financial status, we are all Americans. And as American citizens, by definition, everyone should have the right to vote without facing any unnecessary, illogical hindrances. Aren’t we “one nation” or was that just rhetoric delivered at the Constitutional Convention in 1776 by a group of privileged, wealthy landowners? As Langston Hughes reminded us in his poem, “I, Too,” America must live up to its lofty promises. The question, however, remains whether we ever will. WI
JANUARY 13 - 19, 2022 25
