TBT Article – The War on Voting Rights For Minorities Begins

What we have witnessed in regards to the United States Supreme Court decision on Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a clever strategic move (gamble, hedged bet, etc…) by the Republican Party that caught many by surprise.  In 2006 when Congress voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Republicans knew that would buy them some votes from the so-called black conservatives (and other minorities) and their hands would be clean regarding voting rights for minorities.

What most of us did not realize was that Republicans knew by stacking the Supreme Court, they would be able to eventually get the “unelected” branch of the United States government to do their dirty work. Now in 2013 Republicans pretty much have a stacked deck. They control congressional redistricting, they control the Supreme Court (to a degree), they have the majority in congress (house), and they now have what appears to be the advantage when it comes to voting.

The Republican “Master Plan” was unleashed with all of its fury and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is pretty much useless as there is currently no way to enforce it, thereby opening the gateway for any and all voter suppression tactics to become state laws. This was but the first successful shot launched in the war against voting rights for minorities. Now is the time for us to get our hands dirty and fight to win this war.

How do we win?

1. We educate everyone in every state on their respective state’s Voter ID Laws.
2. We make sure the elderly have transportation to get their Voter ID’s and the money to pay for them.
3. We put our respective congressmen on notice that if they don’t do something about Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that they will not be in office after the next election.
4. Most importantly we vote in the next election and every election afterwards as if our lives depended upon it.

Time to get out of our soon to be nonexistent comfort zones, create our strategies to implement the four objectives mentioned above and prove to our forefathers that the blood, sweat and tears they shed in order to ensure a guaranteed right to vote were not shed in vain.

Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr. is a Moderate Democratic Blogger who cuts through the rhetoric so that individuals can see the reality of political statements and how those statements turned into action can affect them. Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr.

This was originally published on June 26, 2013

Throwback Thursday Article – WHY???

Why all of the interest in holding cops to a higher standard than gangs?  Because they are not the navy blue negro killers.  They should be the example of the best in the community;  those willing to lay their lives on the line to serve and protect.  If they  choose to be thugs with a badge, why not just turn the badge in and either join or form a street gang because that is what you are.

Why focus on a white cop killing an unarmed black teen when you should be focused on so-called black on black crime?  So are you saying that before we begin talking about  a long overdue problem of racial injustice we should focus on its legacy?  That is like focusing on disease symptoms but not the disease itself.  Why not focus on both?  We as black people have the capacity to multi-task.  It is an insult to our individual and collective intelligence when you as a black person say that we can’t focus on both.

So you see a rally in Ferguson, New York and California, but you don’t see a rally about so-called black on black crime?  Really?  When was the last time you went to a black church?  When was the last time you paid attention to your community?  No one mentioned it at your church?  No one rallied in your community?  Why don’t YOU mention it in church?  Why don’t YOU organize a rally?  What?  You do not attend a black church?  What?  You do not live in a black neighborhood?  AND…

Stop criticizing those who ARE DOING something just because they are not doing what YOU feel they should do.  Be the change that you want others to be.

Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr. is a Moderate Democratic Blogger who cuts through the rhetoric so that individuals can see the reality of political statements and how those statements turned into action can affect them.  Contact him by email at jesuorobo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter @Jesuorobo.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jesuorobo A. Enobakhare, Jr.

This article was originally published August 27, 2014.