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Voting Rights Act March and Rally
by James Moss
September 8, 2005

Atlanta, Georgia -- Saturday, August 6, 2005 my wife, Andria and I marched from the federal building on Spring Street in downtown Atlanta to the football stadium at Morris Brown College located on Martin Luther King Drive. Jesse Jackson, Reverend Joseph Lowery (former leader of SCLC) Shirley Franklin, (Mayor of Atlanta) Harry Belafonte, U.S. Congressman John Lewis and other celebrities lead the march. Although, the march was approximately a mile, the significance was not the length of the march or the list of celebrities who marched. We were marching to bring attention to the expiration of the Voting Rights Act in 2007. Unlike the historical marches in the South, we did not have to worry about attack police dogs, being sprayed by firemen water hoses, or police officers sticking us with batons. We only had to worry about the hot Georgia sun.

The first thing I noticed about the crowd of people that had gathered was the large representation of young people. I estimated approximately one third of the crowd, 15,000-20,000 marchers, was under the age of twenty-five. The youth involvement made me feel so very proud that the legacy of fighting to vote was still alive and well. The youth had come to march with their parents and other relatives. It was a good time to share conversations of the past and the future.

I overheard a conversation between a mother and her young daughter. The mother stated: “My mother was involved with the Selma March that was led by Dr. King but I was too young to understand the importance of that march. I hope today that you understand we are marching to keep our voting rights.” I remembered while growing up in Columbus, Ohio I took voting for granted. I remember my mother who is from Atlanta telling me that the first thing she did when she relocated to Columbus was to register and vote. My mother did not have the opportunity to vote in the South during her youthful years. Poll taxes, literacy tests, fear of losing your job, and Ku Klux Klan intimidation prevented Blacks in the South from voting.

We were marching to support the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on its 40th anniversary because key provisions, Section Five, of the Voting Rights Act must be voted for approval by the U.S. Congress in 2007. Section Five of the Voting Rights Act has started a controversy about renewing the Voting Rights Act in 2007. Section Five requires nine states, all in the South, to meet certain standards. These states have a long history of discrimination at the ballot box before 1965. These Southern states must get approval of the federal government before enacting any changes in their electoral laws. Some of these Southern states required Black voters to recite parts of their state constitution, counting the number of jelly beans in a jar, and knowing how many teeth are in the mouth of a horse. This section requires these states, before enacting any changes in their electoral laws, (which includes alterations in the boundaries of congressional districts), moving polling stations and any laws that will effect voting must be approved by the federal government.

Georgia had to have its recently redrawn congressional districts approved by the federal government before it could be made permanent. The federal government is now reviewing a Georgia law that would require voters to present a photo identification to cast their ballots. Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia and Southern Republicans approved this voter photo ID because it would prevent voter fraud. It is odd because in the state of Georgia, unlike Ohio and Florida there has not been a vast amount of voter fraud. Southern Republicans want Section Five to include all fifty states. The Democrats are worried if Section Five includes all the states it would be challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. If this reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, most people think because of the conservative justices on the present court that the Voting Rights Act would be declared unconstitutional. The Constitution gives the states the right to conduct its election.

I ran into Felix Hoover, a Black reporter from the Columbus Dispatch Newspaper, who was marching and writing about the march, while he was in Atlanta for the Black Journalists Convention. I informed him that I was angry that we are still marching and fighting for voting rights that should be guaranteed under the Constitution. I informed Mr. Hoover that I did not want my grandchildren to march for the same Voting Rights Act. Why is the right to vote a controversial issue when Blacks are involved? When will Blacks in this country become full pledged citizens? When will we march to celebrate that we are included in the U.S. Constitution?

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