The Black Vote

The Black Vote

After the Civil war ended, African Americans could now enjoy freedoms they had once been unable to bask in. This smilingly simple task would prove to be more difficult than seemed. Furthermore, the quest for real "freedom" would be a long, daring journey. In all of this perseverance and dedication to a cause, marked some noteworthy milestones for African Americans. The right to vote to be one of many, let us take a journey to see firsthand what African Americans had to do to earn the right to vote in America and how it has since opened the endless door for the culture.

The abolition of slavery came with hope for Civil Rights for African Americans. However, the laws failed to bring about racial equality. The laws were also ambiguous in that they were unable to state clearly how the ex-slaves will be treated and absorbed into the general population. These developments prompted the Congress to pass the 14 ^th Amendment in 1968. The Amendment addresses the rights of citizens and equal protection of the laws. The implementation of these laws also faced a number of hurdles. Surprisingly, the Supreme Court and the Presidency were at fault in failing to enforce these laws. The white society was reluctant to accept the freed slaves as equals, and that should enjoy the same civil rights. One notable case where the Supreme Court failed in enforcing the 14 ^th Amendment is the Plessy v Ferguson case. ¹ The Supreme Court approved the state segregation laws which conflicted with the 14 ^th Amendment. The 1896 ruling resulted in states enacting segregation laws based on the verdict.

The reluctance of the Supreme Court to enforce the Amendment stemmed from the fact that the judges were part of the white society that refused to acknowledge freedmen as equals. Outside influence also played a major role. The Presidency also feared societal backlash and suffering political consequences for using its power to enforce the laws. If the laws were to be fully implemented, attempts by the Southern States to push for laws that will limit African Americans’ social and political freedoms and rights would be thwarted. Efforts to ratify the laws were hugely frustrated in many states. As a result, black American enjoyed no civil rights as stated in the 14 ^th Amendment. The laws were powerless due to failure by the president and Supreme Court to enforce them. Another contributing factor to the denial of civil rights and thriving of segregation policies was the lack of consensus on how blacks should be treated. Initially, the Southern States were opposed to the laws and refused to ratify them in 1866. ² However, they approved them in 1868 after their legislatures were reconstituted.

The Amendment was vehemently opposed by some parts of government responsible for implementing them. The whites did not back down in their attempts to ensure black Americans were treated as second-class citizens. Legislatures were influenced to pass laws that were discriminatory towards black people. The laws were referred to as Jim Crows Laws. They separated blacks and whites in public facilities. By 1914, every Southern state passed discriminatory laws on how to live with black people. The infamous laws barred whites from marrying black people, created schools for races and criminalized the interchanging of books between blacks and whites. Racial segregation created a significant dent in the hopes that the freedmen had upon the abolishment of slavery. ³

The 14 ^th Amendment was as good as it was on paper. The freedmen had the right to exercise their civil rights but had no power to do so. Hence their only hope for total freedom was still being stifled by the white majority. Attempts by any black person to go against the segregation laws were quickly dealt with sometimes resulting in the lynching. An estimated 3000 black people were killed between 1888 and 1968 for trying to break the segregation rules. ⁴ Hence, the definition of civil rights by the 14 ^th Amendment was faulty. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Civil Rights of citizens to political and social freedoms. Since the Black Americans were neither given a chance to exercise their civic rights like voting nor their social right of walking anywhere they wished, they were being denied their civil rights. The blacks lived in fear and were often framed for heinous crimes like rape. The white believed that blacks were uncivilized, untrustworthy and more inclined towards crime.

Surprisingly, Southern States passed laws that allowed the slave masters to retain as many slaves as they had before the civil war. The only difference was that the ex-slaves now worked for a meagre daily pay. Owing to the fact that a majority of the freedmen were uneducated and unskilled, they had little options. Hence, they still worked menial jobs for an oppressive daily pay. Consequently, the ex-slaves were not any less dependent on their masters as they were as slaves. Radical Republicans were of the idea that the plantations have to be confiscated and divided among the freedmen men. They saw this as a solution to the atrocities committed by the plantation owners. Skilled freedmen were also denied licenses to operate businesses. Such ideologies were meant to ensure that black Americans did not climb the ranks and threaten the white supremacists.

The new law was therefore no less different than the old. However, in 1870, the Northern States decided that the treatment of freedmen by their Southern counterparts had to be regulated since the 14 ^th Amendment was not working. In 1875, the civil rights act was passed by Congress. However, the statute did not have any major influence in achieving racial equity. For the better part of the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was less advocacy for the rights of black Americans. The main reason for this dormant period was the declaration of the Northern states that the reconstruction was over and that America was stable.

The 15 ^th Amendment provided a glimpse of hope for black Americans again. The Congress passed the Amendment in 1870 giving black men the right to exercise their civic duty of voting. ⁵ The amendment stated that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude." ⁶  The 15 ^th Amendment provided an opportunity for black people to elect their preferred leaders. Consequently, this law too suffered its own setbacks as its predecessors. By the late 1870s, the white society was coming up with discriminatory laws to limit the blacks’ right to vote. The South again was responsible for these unfair laws.

The congress was dominated by Republicans who were determined to ensure racial equality in the US. The Reconstruction Act passed in 1865 divided the South into five districts. ⁷ After the adoption of the 15 ^th Amendment, a collaboration between black Americans and their white allies in the South voted to elect the Republican Party into power. This resulted in radical changes in the South. The blacks had an immense contribution to ensuring most of the southern states got readmission into the union, and the Republican Party was dominant in the South. A significant milestone was achieved when Hiram Rhoades Revels became the first black man to sit to the Congress after being elected to the Senate. More black men served in electoral capacity in various offices during the reconstruction period.

The period for enjoyment of voting rights was however short-lived. The end of the Reconstruction spelt the end of the Southern Republican party. State governments nullified the 14 ^th and 15 ^th Amendments, ending the blacks’ right to vote. In the decades that followed, poll taxes and literacy tests were introduced to limit voting for black people. Violence and intimidation were also used to deny freedmen their right to vote.

The Louisiana “grandfather clause” was statute by the state of Louisiana aimed at denying African Americans their right to vote. ⁸ Together with poll taxes and literacy tests, these were carefully planned statutes passed by Democrats to exclude blacks from voting disguised as laws to ban illiterate people from voting. Of course, plans had to be made to ensure that poor white people were not excluded from the voting process, hence the “grandfather clause” was provided. This clause would ensure that potential white voters would skip the polling taxes and literacy tests while at the same time disenfranchising black voters.

The grandfather clause was created in Louisiana in 1898. The provision stated that those whose fathers and grandfathers could vote before 1867 would skip polling taxes and literacy tests. Because no blacks were allowed to vote before 1867 in Louisiana, the clause automatically exempted blacks from voting. ⁹ This way, the state was able to avoid the ire of the Supreme Court and the Northern States. Additionally, the oppressive statute avoided scrutiny because of the on-going Spanish- American War. Other southern states followed suit and enacted the grandfather clause.

However, the Supreme Court in 1915 found that Oklahoma grandfather clause was unconstitutional and ordered it removed. Consequently, other states with the term were forced to withdraw from it. The removal did not have the desired effect because these states moved swiftly to enact policies that prevented black people from voting.

Fifty years after the Congress had passed the 15 ^th Amendment, black people still could not exercise their right to vote. The treatment of African American stirred a considerable debate in Congress, in the media, and in the streets. In 1920, the 19 ^th Amendment was passed which gave women the right to vote. White Democrat leaders again resisted this new found right for women. They voiced their concerns that women had no business electing their leaders. Upon noticing that they could not have their way, they encouraged white women to register in order to counter the influx of black women. It was seen that allowing black women to vote would disturb the racial hierarchy that they had established in order to control elections. At the end of the registration period, 18% of black women and men had registered as voters. Surprisingly, black women formed 60% of all the black registered voters. ¹⁰ Activism mainly aided the surge in a number of black voters in black neighbourhoods. However, the poll taxes and violence against blacks remained major hindrances to the black vote. Some areas made voting stations a no-go zone for black people.

President Roosevelt came up with a deal that assisted the blacks. He encouraged government participation for African Americans. He went on to appoint blacks in senior government positions. By 1936, a majority of blacks had shifted from Lincoln’s to Roosevelt’s Democrat party. The struggle for suffrage by blacks continued for decades. Activists like Dr Martin Luther King Jr. spearheaded the battle for the rights of African Americans. Many blacks and whites protested and marched in the streets; some were arrested, maimed or even killed in the process. Luther’s efforts managed to turn the tide on American politicians. The 24 ^th Amendment was passed in 1964, prohibiting the use of poll taxes to bar blacks from voting. A breakthrough came in 1965 through the Voting Rights Act. The Attorney General was directed to enforce the black voting rights. By 1969 the percentage of registered black voters had increased to 61%. ¹¹

From 1965, the number of black elected officials has tremendously increased. The number of blacks holding elective positions increased from around 1000 in 1965 to the current over 10000. ¹² African Americans make up about 12% of the total voting population. The voting Act of 1965 required that states with a history of discrimination submit new election regulations to Federal officials. For the next 30 years after the Voting Act, blacks remained secluded from electoral politics in the former Confederate States.

An increased number of black registered voters contributed to an increase in the number of black elected officials. Black people hold the opinion that increased political representation will add to racial equality. Over the past 50 years, there has been an upward trajectory in the number of elected black officials. In 1965, there was neither a black senator nor governor and only six black members of the House of Representatives. Currently, there are 44 African Americans in the House of Representatives, two black senators and one black governor. Since 1965, eight blacks have served in the Senate including Barack Obama. ¹³ There have also been four black governors. The election of Barack Obama to the Presidency was the epitome of the blacks’ rights to vote. It was a proud moment for the African American population. It represented the progress that blacks have made in making it possible for them to exercise their civil rights.

However, the violence against black people is threatening to erode the gains made in fighting for the rights of black people. Police have harassed over 50% of black youth or know of someone who has experienced police harassment. Comparatively, only 30% of white youths have been attacked or know of someone who has experienced police harassment. ¹⁴ Hence the activism about black lives has a strong backing. Harassment of black youth is based on the faulty perception that African Americans are inclined towards violence. The notion was created during the old days of slavery. Studies shows show a sharp division between the daily experiences of black and white millennials. Recent shootings of black youth are an indication of perceptions held towards Black millennials. Violence against black youth is seventeen times her as compared to their white counterparts. The violence has led to activism in the black lives matter.

Black youth are more likely to experience violence on the streets and by police. As a matter of fact, black millennials are a higher risk of gun violence compared to their white counterparts. These statistics are an indication of passed down perceptions from the slave owners. Even though there have been tremendous gains in achieving the rights of African Americans, there still work to be done to achieve racial equality.

In conclusion, the struggle for black people being granted the right to vote was a long and bitter one. At the end of the civil war when slavery was abolished, the freedmen thought that their freedom would be recognized and they would be able to exercise it freely. Little did they know that the struggle had just begun. The people and institutions tasked with enforcing the rights of the freed slaves turned against them. The presidency, the Supreme Court and the legislators all frustrated efforts to grant black people their voting rights. It is through the bravery and passion of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and others protests that the political class was able to pass laws to give African American equal voting rights. Even though racial equality is far from being achieved, the right amount of progress has been made.

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