Thousands of Students March 7 Miles To Vote
Early voting starts today in Texas. In Waller County, a primarily rural county about 60 miles outside Houston, the county made the decision to offer only one early voting location: at the County Courthouse in Hempstead, TX, the county seat.
Prairie View A&M students organized to protest the decision, because they felt it hindered their ability to vote. For background, Prairie View A&M is one of Texas' historically Black universities. It has a very different demographic feel than the rest of the county. There has been a long history of dispute over what the students feel is disenfranchisement. There was a lot of outrage in 2006, when students felt they were unfairly denied the right to vote when their registrations somehow did not get processed.
According to an article in today's Houston Chronicle:
Waller County has faced numerous lawsuits involving voting rights in the past 30 years and remains under investigation by the Texas Attorney General's Office based on complaints by local black leaders. Those allegations, concerning the November 2006 general election, related to voting machine failures, inadequate staffing and long delays for voting results.
The article adds,
"I was angry after registering to vote in the 2006 election only to be turned away at the voting booth," said sophomore Dee Dee Williams.
So what are the students doing?
1000 students, along with an additional 1000 friends and supporters, are this morning walking the 7.3 miles between Prairie View and Hempstead in order to vote today. According to the piece I saw on the news (there's no video up, so I can't link to it), the students plan to all vote today. There are only 2 machines available at the courthouse for early voting, so they hope to tie them up all day and into the night.
I love stories like this. In the face of an obvious ploy to suppress the vote, these young people stood up for their rights and showed that they will not be cowed. Republicans should be worried, because this is a committed electorate.
Yes! Keep fighting the good fight! More power to the students and friends of PVA&M!
Useless bigoted state. Republicans aren't human. Let's run em out on a rail this November and NEVER let them come back. Beat them when they are down.
That's awesome. I hope people all across the nation start doing stuff like this to push back against the voter suppression tactics that the Republican party always employs. It's time to take our country back.
Gee I wonder why Michelle Obama feels the way she does . Leave it to that toilet they call Texas to
prove her right. I hope Mexico takes that piece shit back and makes it into something someone
could be proud of . Remember the Alamo they got their ass kicked just like the south did ....
I live in Houston close the beltway 8 SW side and this is the first time I'm hearing about this story =/
Shows just how our deaf, dumb, and blind media keeps us informed about what really is going on around us even ever so close.
Eh hem, the state I was born and live in isn't useless, but comments like that are. Not all Texans are racist or bigoted, and you'll probably have better luck changing their political leanings by not referring to their state as "useless". That said, you know these guys kept all the money meant to buy more voting machines and bought new hemi's :D
I admire this style of activism. It is both passionate and rational. However, for the sake of honesty, that is not 2000 people. Maybe 300-400, but not 1000 students and 1000 friends and supporters.
Other than that, this is the type of story that inspires.
Kudos to these students! BRAVO!!!
There's a certain aroma in the air. Change, anyone? Yes, the rethuglic**ts are in for quite a dose.
They walked seven miles?
Now those are some young people who want to vote.
"Pro Freedom and Pro Democracy" Republicans still working their sinister magic in the dark art of voter suppression.
WHAT LOOKS INSPIRING ON THE OTHER SIDE, IN WISCONSIN, IS THAT THE D LOSER IS POLLING MORE THAN THE R TOTAL. Sorry, didn't mean to holler, but I hape the difference lasts until November.
CD @ 10:
And those are some young people who stood up to really care about our country instead of being beaten down by apathy. More power to them, we sure need the help.
bmw 528 @ 13:
2008 version of the march on Selma. Conservatives tried to supress then and they are trying it again now. The more things change the more they stay the same. It didn't work then and it doesn't look like it's going to work now.
It feels good to see that! Damn, maybe America is waking up afterall.
Yeah! Love ya, Prairie View!
Let's hope you lit a prairie fire under the behinds of your fellow students nation-wide!
AWESOME!!!!!! this should be a BIG story! (should be)
Video from KHOU
AMAZING!
In view of all that walking these fine folks did, it brings to mind Nike's slogan from the recent past:
Just Do It!
I feel like clapping right now.
O......
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Jaden @ 5:
I hear the NeoCon/Repub apologist argument very often. They praise the "provisional ballot" that the disenfranchised is given and point out how seldom the victim returns (two weeks after the election is over) to confirm their identities.
Of course they don't expect people to return to renew their vote after the race is over. But they know that it SOUNDS reasonable to the type of American who still believes that WMD's were found in Iraq.
You can fool some of the people all of the time. Else you woudn't be able to find a Republican in office.
I was born and raised in Texas. Ever since I moved to a so-called "progressive" city in the Midwest, I've gotten lots of snorts and sneers whenever people find out this fact about me. I've gotten so sick of people telling me that they hate Texans...to my face! Listen, there are a lot of things to hate about Texas, Bush being #1, but these people are why you should love Texans. They are out there fighting the good fight, just like people all over the rest of the country.
I hope we see more actions like this with the young voters of this country. Very moving!
"Texas Attorney General"
That is funny. What is that job entail, exactly?
Wouldn't this be a position twice removed from ANY sort of legal background or experience?
I expect this person's only responsibility would be pulling the switch on the electric chair- and it is full time.
Certainly not 2000 people but certainly a lot regardless..
Fantastic!
It just boggles the mind that in 2008, more than a century and a half since the ratification of the 15th Amendment, many states continue to use these despicable tactics to suppress the African American vote.
I think it's about time we invoke the little-known second section of the 14th Amendment, under which states that pull stunts like this are supposed to lose representation in the House, and thus lose electoral votes. They should have done it to Florida in 2000, and they should do it to Texas if the evidence is there.
kahootz @ 7:
How do you know the number of students that marched? How can we possibly know how far back that line of people extends outside the border of the picture?
Finally, a decent protest! I was starting to worry that Americans have just given up trying to fight the republifasiests.
Fucking awesome.
Fired Up Ready to Go!!!!
Its these people that are the we that Obama talks about.
I hope Obama talks about this in his speeches in Texas, because this is what his campaign is all about.
Very impressive. Congrats to those young people! As a number of people stated in previous posts -- the MSM should be highlighting this great story.
Unfortunately, voter suppression WILL be a factor in Texas. Hang on to your seats!
Karen @ 27:
I understand your incredulity. However, you must realize, if there were more students far behind this particular group, the helicopter would have taken pictures of them. Why would it not? It's a helicopter. It's not difficult to hover and get the rest of the shot.
Furthermore, I also recognize the fact that FOX Spews will report this event as having about 10 students.
I am a card-carrying liberal democrat, and proud of it. I fully support everything these students are doing. But I also respect truth. And the truth is this group of dedicated and motivated and passionate activists is not 2000 strong. Why would this be a problem for you?
I lived in Dallas for 11 years. I would recommend staying away from the small towns (Vidor, Jasper, et.al.) but the big cities are quite diverse. There are some mighty fine people that reside in D/FW and there are, of course, the local assholes.
That is smucking beautiful!!!
And btw...how do we know if this pic depicts the totality of marchers/activists?? I'm just sayin'...
And we have the audacity to insist on supervising the voting proctices in other countries.
Fucking A guys, keep up the good work.
Now let me take a second to defend Texas, though I've never even been there. Bush is from Connecticut, just like Lieberman and Ann Coulter. Let's keep our facts straight, it separates us from the animals and neocons.
Thats great.
good for all these young people. more people should stand up
to the gop and let them know that the gop is past tense.
Something is in the air. We should all be proud.
This kind of stories just warm my heart and lead me to tears, its so painfully true that THESE students were going to decide the election so they just HAD to be oppressed. Well you showed them, every vote counts, so you take your uninformed self right to that voting booth and vote....
Yes.............The time for change is NOW. GOBAMA!!!
Awesome - what a great statement. I'm beginning to feel proud of my country again.
i'm a texan and i hate W. and so do a helluva lot of other texans. for most of its history, it's been a democratic state. stories like this give me hope that a sea change is underway and we're back to blueness!
What an experience for those first time voters!
While watching the video I couldn't make the connection as to why not enough voting machines impacted early voting. It seems to me if you break out more of your machines during early voting you will need less machines on election day. Have I missed something?
This is the type of action that brings change. Good for them. This is inspiring to all. Ther is still hope.
Awesome! Too bad that the people in charge are such assholes that it has to come to this (are we still in the 1960's?).
My guess is that if Hillary gets the bid, a lot of young voters like this will feel disenfranchised, and the ensuing voter apathy may really hurt the Democratic party in November. I'll still turn out to vote, but I can understand why people wouldn't.
This is the news that makes me proud to live in Texas.
For all the crap Texas gets from people, it's good to have people see that there are people ready for change here.
After seeing that, "Taking it to the Street" by The Doobie Brothers has been running through my head. Nicely done folks! You are a model for us all.
The 2000 number is the estimate from the local police...they'd have no reason to hype it.
To borrow some '60's phrases- Right on!- Power to the people!
Oh, that is brilliant protesting and quite moving and humbling to see. (Someone's been reading their Saul Alinsky, their MLK,Jr., and their Gandhi. (G)) I'll take back every bad thought I ever had about Texas (I'm an OU Alumn, my enmity is earned, dammit!) But I admire the hell out of those Prairie View students. And as someone above said, I do hope Obama, and even Hillary publicize this. Heck, this would be a perfect thing for Edwards to highlight(were he still in it). And I hope none of us forget this in Nov., when the general comes around, we may need to resort to these types of tactics in order to ensure that our votes count.
And to the person above who said that it wasn't 1,000 or 2,000 marchers, please remember, even if there is a vast trail of people behind, even the helicopter crews on the local news don't show that when it makes the ruling cast look bad. Hundreds of thousands marched after the 2000 vote was granted to Bush. Millions marched and protested BEFORE the Iraq war, but popular news accounts of the time edited out the wide shots, and gave low-ball figures for both events. You either had to be their to notice the differences, or read the foreign press to get a better estimate. Do not ever beleive that corporate media will give you anything that makes regular people look strong.
...doing their parents proud!
did they walk back home after too ;)
kahootz @ 32:
I'm a Texan and I have to say that by and large many, maybe most, Texans do deserve the world's contempt. The people in this story, no, but a LOT of white Texans voted for Bush not 2 times but 4 times, for governor and president, and his policies and attitudes were the same when he was governor as they have been while he's been president. For some reason, many white Texans who were Bush supporters until very recently are now feeling the tides of fashion and saying they no longer like him, but they did for well over a decade, much longer than the rest of the country. And here in Texas we even have roads, libraries, airports, and schools named after his execrable family, and there's no sign of those going away anytime soon.
That said, this is just a short list of genuinely progressive Texas notables: Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, Barbara Jordan, Erykah Badu, Willy Nelson, Dahr Jamail (now calling Alaska home but originally from a Houston Republican family and a graduate of the notoriously right-wing Texas A&M University), and Diane Wilson.
fantastic!
deang @ 56:
Nothing can be more obscene in Texas than that over to top bronze statue of Bush Senior at Huston Airport, I wonder how he managed that one.
deang @ 56:
And I'm 67, a Vietnam veteran, and moved here over 30 years ago by choice. It's been a long time since I felt represented in either branch of Congress, but I haven't given up.
Those idiots who act morally superior to everyone who lives in Texas need to grow up. What they're doing is worthless and counter-productive.
Deang has it right. The list could be much longer. And honey attracts many more flies than vinegar. Not that I'm calling Rethuglicans flies [heh heh].
Damn, that's a beautiful thing...
Boots on the ground. Yeah. Been awhile.
Wonderful! I love this story too. A change is gonna come.
This is SO important.
*
60,61,62
+63
Late to the thread; couldn't read the comments 'cause I've a long day tomorrow too. But, I had to say: These kids rock. There is hope for this country.
yeah! Great story! Great action! Great statement these students are making! While we do obviously have our share of seriously sorry people here in Texas, it's folks like this that make me think there is hope...that yes. A Change is Going to Come!
This story warmed my heart. I hope to see more like it in the very near future.
deang @ 56:
Add Ann Richards to that list...the first Female Texas Governor! She always put Dubya in his place and with a smile!
If it's any consolation, the George Bush Presidential Library sits on the site of the old Texas A&M Swine Farm.
Lived in TX for a short while, glad I got out. Just sayin'.
Lived in FL too, and hated that even worse, if that makes any Texans feel better.
Pete&Pete @ 6:
Useless state.
GO PVA&M!
right on!!!
kahootz @ 32:
My incredulity? I was trusting the report. You were incredulous. Or are you asking about my not believing you?
Maybe the helicopter did take pictures of them, and they're just not shown in the news reports. Or just not worth the bandwidth at C&L. Maybe the helicopter photographer took several pictures, and they're only publishing the ones that look decent for the presentation. There are a number of possibilities to explain the lack of published pictures.
It strikes me as highly tenuous to claim that you know definitively how many people were actually there despite the news reports merely because your informal logic begins with the premise, "why wouldn't they take the pictures if they could?" To then demand that C&L and the news be accurate takes your claim from tenuous to arrogant.
Ok.
Why would you think any of that would be a problem for me? Card-carrying liberal democrat -- all well and good with me, though I didn't realize they handed out cards for that. Supporting the students -- excellent. Respecting the truth -- equally excellent.
The problem I have is that you contradict the empirical claims of a news report, insisting that you have the true and accurate information, but have no basis to make such claims.
My only question was, "How do you know?" You haven't answered that questions satisfactorily.
Awesome!
Do these boots on the ground think the MI and FL voters should be disenfranchised from the Democratic base? Seems a little hypocritical to care so much about themselves being left out, but not the millions + voters from MI & FL! That is united alright!
Concerned American @ 74:
You're spamming about any thread you can with the same crap...
MAtt @ 75:
No I am not a spammer! I am concerned because these people do not want to be disenfranchised but yet they want the voters from other states to not count at all, with or with out stupid delegates. Real people still voted for both Obama and Hillary and their votes are not being counted. It is not fair!
Concerned American @ 76:
It's nice to see you're so worried after the rules were enforced. I can't help but find it suspicious that you and Hillary suddenly care about this matter after she won the primaries practically uncontested (wasn't she the only one on the ballet in MI?)...
You break the rules you pay the price...
Besides these people will be able to vote just like everyone else when the actual election rolls around..
And this is the reason we are fighting. This is the picture we have waited for years to see.
Our kids are now taking the rains of power and just running away with it and how sweet it is.
Gekke @ 54:
Before my mom died in 2005, I used to have to come through IAH with some frequency. I always managed [discreetly enough to avoid arrest] to flip that statue the bird.
MAtt @ 77:
I did not agree to any rules as a Democratic voter and American citizen with just as much right as the rest of the country. If you knew anything, you would realize it was a Republican legislation that put these "rules" in place. How is that in the best interest of the Democratic base?
None of us, including you were not even aware of these rules until the primary election coverage started and that was after it was decided. Just because I care about this issue does not make me bias or only for Hillary...I am for the strongest Democratic Party to be strong in Nov for the GE you nit wit! Grow up and learn about reality. You sound like a fraternity troll with way too much adrenaline and not enough to do! Go do something productive like learn how to be unified and stop trying to win by division and disenfranchising real citizens who count as much as you do! Rules or not!
BTW...Anyone in MI could have voted "uncommitted" or for Dennis Kucinich. Hillary was not the only one on the ballot in MI, even that is what you choose to believe in your delusional Saint Obama world!
The voters in MI could have voted for Dennis Kucinich or "uncommitted." Hillary Clinton was not the only one on the ballot in MI despite what you choose to believe!
Texass is a BIG f*cking state. I seriously doubt this issue (insufficient # of early voting places) is limited to this particular county!
More power to these people! THESE are the kind of people we need to be involved in this country's future for it to survive.
I do not know why this is not posting, so if it is posted twice, I am sorry...but,
The voters in MI could have voted for Dennis Kucinich or "uncommitted." Hillary Clinton was not the only one on the ballot in MI despite what you choose to believe!
wow, voting in this coutry has really taken a turn for the worse since 2000. I thought we had the right to vote.
That?
ROCKS.
To Shannon #22 - In Ohio, provisional ballots are not even counted unless it's a close race. I love seeing this kind of protest: peaceful, organized, and able to accomplish their goal. In Ohio, if you are in line to vote when the polls close at 7:30 p.m., the polls must stay open to allow you to vote. Therefore, all these students were in line so they all got to vote. I hope there were a few dozen provisionals thrown in - they take about 10 minutes each to fill out!
I am beginning to think that the youth of America woke up one morning and came to the conclusion that YES,"The king has no clothes" A huge shift in public opinion!
We all should be outraged at anyone in any party trying to keep people from voting.
It is an awful feeling knowing your vote has been taken away from you. I personally have had it happen twice. Once during Nixon years and 2000!
I also love stories like this. Good for all those who marched to vote!!! I salute you and send you hugs!
I am so proud. Thank you PV A&M.
Texas Democrat @ 67:
I'm pretty sure Joe Galloway isn't a registered Democrat, but he hates the Bush regime, hates the war, and says John McCain lost his vote when he kowtowed to the religious right -- and he lives in Texas.
One more comment. I admire what these students are doing, but I wonder about the rules for early voting in Texas. In Virginia, you have to provide some reason that you can't get to the polls during normal election hours in order to vote early. They don't let you vote early just to "vote early." Even though I planned to work all day at the polls, except for about 3 hours when I had to travel to a nearby town for a doctor's appointment, they didn't accept the "I'm too busy on election day" excuse. So, I told them I was going out of town.
Jess @ 23:
Progressive Midwestern city, where the hell is THAT?
-from someone who's lived most of her life in Chicago and Kansas City.
WAIT A SECOND !!!!
If the PVA&M students tie up the 2 voting machines all day long, how are all the WHITE people gonna vote ????
pol @ 90:
You can vote early in Texas without any excuse.
deang @ 56:
Don't forget Janis Joplin :)
Litabell @ 94:
She went to high school with Jimmie Johnson..
The NFL coach, not the NASCAR guy.
This is great to see. I'm not black, so I can only imagine the fury and frustration of being treated like they've been and the way they've been disenfranchised. Seeing this brings to mind the spirit of the 1960s, when young people protested a corrupt government and literally changed the course of America for the better. I think this gives hope to a lot of us and should help to empower more people - young and old - to take a stand and do something to reclaim the ideals and rights we've had defiled by the republican party.
much more at my blog...
Check out some of the comments in the Houston Chronicle story for local points of view.
Why hasn't someone gone an interviewed the Election Supervisor, wouldn't that would make a great You-Tube video! A knuckle-dragging, born-again Bush-sycophant trying to explain why only one voting machine!
Wonder if we will see this on the Corporate TV channels? Keith, at least, I would hope.
Good for those kids! The Dems should be all over this.
The Waller County Web Site is down, I wonder why?
This is so awesome!!!! Gives me hope for this country again. Power to the people!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
You can piss off some of the people all of the time
and all of the people some of the time.
But you can't piss off all of the people all of the time.
BEAUTIFUL!!!! :D
For some added perspective from an endangered species in Texas apparently making a comeback (white, male Progressives Deep in the Heart): In the 2004 Texas Democratic Primary, less than 7% of REGISTERED voters cast their ballots.
There are a total of 35,000 residents in all of Waller County, Texas. So if 2000 people is an accurate number, 6% of the whole friggin' county in one day of early voting walked 7 miles to cast their ballots.
McCain may crow all he likes about experience. This evidence tells me he is about to experience being steamrolled.
Yes, we can!
Si, se puede!
Thank you GW bush, for waking up america to what is possible if they stop paying attention. If you told me this story in 2004, I wouldn't have believed you.
Lawrence Wirth @ 97:
Wow! I won't label all Texans as racists or all anything, but after reading some of those comments, I sure am glad I live in Michigan. All states have their share of rednecks and bigots, but some of the folks in Texas are openly racist and don't even know it! Scary indeed! Good for the students! I hope this gets national news and it will compell (shame) that county into having fair & proper voting mechanisms before Nov.
This story should be huge, but I have yet to see it plastered all over the national news.
Bush and his rethuglicans from Texas have no problem electrocuting African-Americans and ignoring James Byrd Jr.'s murder, but it's way too hard for them to make it so African-Americans can vote.
I am actually from Hempstead, Texas, and while I am thrilled that organizers were able to get these kids out to vote, I must tell everyone that the move from 6 early voting locations to one in Hempstead was less about suppressing the vote from PVAMU (which is only 7 miles away) and more about suppressing the vote from the near-Houston areas that terrify elected officials in Waller County. (Which is still wrong, but not racist.)
Also, the quote from Dee Dee Williams isn't exactly fair. The reason many of the kids who registered were turned away was because they registered with their parents home addresses outside Waller County. Would your county let people vote who were registered elsewhere? This was the fault of Democratic organizers who told the kids they didn't have to live there, just to boost registration numbers.
There are racial injustices in Waller County, particularly in the school districts, but I'm just not sure this was one of them. However, it seems that's what it takes to get college kids to vote, so good for them.
What a great uplifting story. I hope this wave builds and sweeps the country. We out here in the rest of the world are excited about the fresh breeze blowing across America and hoping it will blow away the stink of the bush administration.
The Young people are showing strength and determination which is great, this IS their world.
Older Americans should hit the bricks also and put the fear into the neoCons that their ploy to take over America is having serious problems and that Americans (the real ones) are watching how rotten they are with their slanted courts and crippling the Rule of Law.
Stand up America, and take back your nation.
I hope these wonderful people will do it ALL again in November, when their votes will be on teh line.
how is anyone in the story being "disenfranchised"? how many EARLY polling places are supposed to kept open every day? In my county, there are only 2 early voting places- the main clerk of courts building and its satellite location, and both are more than 7 miles away from my house- am i disenfranchised? the normal election day polling places arent open early because it would be a silly waster of resources. no one is stopping them from voting early, on election day, or via mail
Bangkok Bob @ 111:
I can't help but feel optimistic about November in particular, and the rising tide of positive, liberal activism in general. It puts a huge smile on my ugly mug.
My relatives in Germany are very excited about Obama, and can't believe that we didn't revolt in 2000...
Hear that Hannity? Hear that Coulter, Kristol, Limbaugh, Savage,? That's the sound of 4,000 feet marching to usher you into extinction.
Lizzy B @ 110:
As a college kid with no car, 7 miles is a loooooong way. It's not totally debilitating, but it's discouraging enough for me to call it suppression.
When I went to UT in Austin, I registered in Travis County, but had my mailing address as my parents' house. I voted where I spent 9 months out of the year, but had my card mailed to the one address that stayed the same throughout my college career.
My understanding is that these kids were challenged based on the same behavior. That is not acceptable.
May you have fine bluebonnets in Hempstead this year. I'm in Congressional District 10, so we share a representative. Both Democratic candidates were marching in the parade with the students. I hope you will consider voting for Dan Grant, once the line from PVAMU works its way through the two voting machines that are available!
Be afraid McCain, be very afraid...
We shall overcome, someday.
I love this story too. Tomorrow is the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X. He was so correct. The struggle goes on and on and on. Kudos to these kids and the hundreds of thousands of us old and young who are inspired in this political year. We need to do more than vote, but vote we must, and we must be allowed to vote, and our votes must be counted and paid attention to.
Unfortunately, the Walker County system is so corrupt that the students are reduced to fighting for equal access to early voting, which itself is anathema to election integrity. But I suppose you have to fight one battle at a time.
Steven Freeman
Election Integrity
Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count by Steven F. Freeman & Joel Bleifuss
I'll start from early on in my evolution... I am a biracial man whose father is African-American and mother is Caucasian. My parents met in 1959 when my un-wed mother was in a nursing school where my father was employed as a nurses aide... my mother was engaged to a white man who was attending engineering school. My father had an African-American wife and (5) children at the time of his extra-marital relationship with my mother. At some early point of my mothers pregnancy with me she made the decision to marry her fiance, and to lie to everyone about who the father of her un-born child was... she achieved this by claiming that I had been afflicted with a skin-disease called "melanism".
My mother and step-father had four more children together in the space of nine years after I was born, and we grew up together in a middle-class household in white america where the subject of "race" was never discussed. My earliest recollections of having to be aware of race was when I was asked questions about the color of my skin by other classmates in first grade... "Why was my skin dark?", "Was I adopted?" race was certainly a hot-button issue in 1965-66 when I began school , but any awareness that my mother and step-father had achieved from growing up in their white neighborhoods in the 40's and 50's was insufficient in preparing them for raising a biracial child... and to complicate things, they were both in complete denial of their complicity in my mis-education. When I came home from school after having been asked questions by fellow students from my all-white school district, my mother then explained "the skin-disease story" to me... "other kids with this disease usually have dark blotches all over their bodies, so you should feel fortunate". When I would tell my mother about other boys and girls who would call me names or act aggressively for no apparent reason, I began to understand that I would get no further assistance from her to explain this rationale... my step-father was even more removed from the conversation and would only add, "You know what your mother said".
By the time that my step-father transferred jobs and our family of (7) had moved from the all-white Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Stow to the all-white school district of Portville in Western up-state N.Y. it was the spring of 1970 and I was in fourth grade, and already the veteran of many racial incidents and altercations between myself, classmates, and even some adults. My four younger siblings had also been told the same story, and had to explain the same things to their friends when asked why they had a brother who was black... "Hey, did your mother fool around a little bit??" I remember how much that hurt me when I heard it, and I'm sure that they felt just as badly when they did... nonetheless, this was a "subject" that we never discussed as a family, not once, at least in my presence.
I was taught through my observations of my mother and step-father to keep quiet about things that I wasn't sure about, and I was also taught to ignore the obvious.
As I matured into my teen-aged years and began to experience societies issues and insecurities in coming to terms with this countries racial in-equalities during the 70's, I felt an increasing need to rationalize and then codify the information that my mother had given me, regardless of what I was beginning to realize inside... I felt a growing discomfort/conflict, yet there was no one in my life to offer any other perspective... I had learned that black people were a part of society that we didn't talk about. ( There was a black family in my small town, and they were poor and lived in a run-down house near the river...I never had any opportunity or reason to associate with them)
I was a "B" student and also began taking an interest in sports where I was above average. Meeting other schools and student athletes were opportunities to then be exposed to populations that had not been inured by my story yet...I was just another black kid to them.
Communicating my experiences to my mother and step-father was difficult because they had no experience with racial prejudice, therefore when I had problems with other children it would be looked at as an issue that "I" had in getting along with others(as well as intra-family sibling issues).
Because "race" was being ruled-out entirely, by my mothers denial of my father, she could not logically use that rationale to explain any conflicts that I would have. My step-fathers complicity in this was to blindly support my mothers viewpoint.
The "white" viewpoint has always been that blacks(black society) were pretty well cared for, and what contact they did have would be polite and careful... What, with the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts being passed, the playing field had been leveled.(re: my mother and step-father's generation)
The feelings and comfort of my mother were apparently what was important, and her inculcation had to have been partly comprised of the idea that white society acted as the gate-keepers and care-takers of an infantilized black population.
questions:
How has black society formed its identity?
What role models have been used, and how does white society react to positive
black role models today? (Are they held to a more critical prism??)
Is there enough information readily available for black people to easily form a
positive racial identity?
Is it important that black society is able to connect accurately the dots of its social
evolution in America? and is it also important that white society can connect those
same dots??
What is White Privilege?
What is White awareness?
What is Whiteness?
What about Affirmative Action?
Is Race just a social construct?
How do we improve our society in America?
Is there any other way(besides the attrition of the old guard) to achieve this??
Dave Myers
www.discussrace.com
That is pretty awesome.
deang @ 56:
u can also add Jim Wright, Martin Frost, CBS' Bob Schieffer (sorry about the LN spelling) and Dan Rather.
7.3 miles good god, this is much ado about nothing, I have to go 21 miles to vote and have never complained and never missed voting, 7.3 miles is nothing. When you live in the country you can't expect to have a voting place at every crossroads. I say STFU and vote, I have waited for as long as two hours to place a vote, it happens so rarely why complain.
#124 Dave Myers, What has your comment got to do with this thread? The injustice is wasting others time on a topic that belongs elsewhere.
Back to the topic:
I applaud these students. This is what it will take to get this country out of the disaster it is in.
Also, we need to be careful about classifying Texas as a bad state. There are many, many wonderful people there. When we do this, we are no better than racist, biased people who classify people by the entire group. Bush has done this with the middle east. Let's break out of the ignorant molds.
MLK would have been proud of you. Keep marching and Yes You Can!
Enku
LolaLola @ 127:
Uh huh, and are you walking or are you driving your car? Most of these college students probably do not own cars and had no other way of getting there.
I don't think the claim that they're being disenfranchised by having only one early voting location is a valid complaint - lots of counties only have one or two early voting places, and those have really restricted hours. I lived in Elgin, TX for 5 years, and do you know how much of a pain in the ass it was for me to vote early? Not every county has the luxury of being large enough to warrant voting machines in every grocery store on every corner for the entire two week early voting period. Some states don't even have early voting at all. People need to STFU and quit whining just because the county voting clerk isn't showing up at their doorsteps with ballots on a silver platter. Just because something takes effort, doesn't mean it's impossible. It's not like the polling place has a bouncer preventing these kids from voting.
Haley @ 130:
But this is only EARLY voting. On the actual election day, there should be closer locations. At least that's how they do it in other counties. Besides, nobody on campus has a car? Nobody could get a ride? Why doesn't the college or a local business or church or someone offer a shuttle service? Nobody is forcing these kids to walk. No one's got a gun to their heads, saying "you must walk uphill, both ways, in the snow, barefoot, and fight off grizzly bears with three-ring binders in order to cast your vote."
Haley @ 130:
I do not own a car, do not drive, I catch a ride to the polls, I also catch a ride to buy groceries, go to church, I live alone will be sixty-five come march, I plant a garden, harvest it, am an artist, sell through my own gallery, have had two massive heart attacks, and I try not to complain because there are others that have nothing, I am blessed and lucky.
Hooray for the students!
Here's hoping this catches on at campuses throughout the country, to ensure voters get to vote. And also that it spurs registration drives of non-voters, and that people act as watchdogs to make sure that registrations are honoured and there's no hanky-panky. Greg Palast has some bone-chilling things to say about how the 2008 election can be stolen, even without actual machine fraud or errors (check out his website, and his book Armed Madhouse).
Also, these being young folks, surely a lot of them have camera phones with them and there will be plenty of clips of the crowd as it marched and voted.
I think my faith in humanity just went from 0 to 1
Why should Republicans be worried? Its a primary vote.
Ain't gonna let nobody body turn me round
Turn me round
Turn me round
Ain't gonna let nobody body turn me round
Marching off to freedom land!
too bad the sad truth is just about every democrat turns into a republican in policy as soon as they get elected
Scy @ 2:
Please use "neocon Republicans" or "facist Republicans". Classical conservative Republicans like Texas congressman Ron Paul happen to be very human.
Morning Glory @ 132:
THE WHOLE POINT is to make a statement. Surely they could've organized carpools and shuttles, but the point is to become visible and make a statement about being disenfranchised. Perhaps the regular voting day is during their spring break or something; either way, they have the right to vote early and the county is trying to deny them that right, purposely.
The Houston Chronicle did not state that the students were denied right to vote when there were up to 12 different people voting from one dorm address. This happened numerous times.
John Smith @ 139:
I'm an evil Conservative!!
And Ron Paul is not Conservative you idiot!
Let's repeat what we hear on T.V. and not do our own research!
Texan @ 142:
Ron Paul, in the mainstream media?
When did that happen?
Morning Glory @ 131:
Right on!!!
The main reason this is happening is the the black community loves to throw THE RACE CARD and state that all conservatives are evil when in reality we were the ones that freed them not the Democrats!
Why would the Republicans care if they could vote early in a Democratic primary? You sure Hillary is not behind this "conspiracy?"
I love how this story immediately got people trashing Republicans/Texas...
People have a lot of misconceptions about the state. I've found that there are a lot of good people there, even if they have to put up with bad stereotypes. Also, some of the cities (Houston, Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth) are very different from the rest of Texas.
This is great news. It looks like the youth of this country are to some degree saying "enough!" and are realizing there's more to life than iPods and MySpace. When college students - especially disenfranchised ones - get organized like this, they can have a major impact on the course of our nation's politics. Look at what happened in the 1960s. This may be just the beginning of a new movement towards a better country.
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2146727
Scy @ 2:
No blanket statement there right? And this coming from the "tolerant" left. Joy.
shamus @ 135:
(rolling eyes) So dramatic! You need to look around and open your eyes and see that people have been helping others since the beginning of time! This apathetic attitude is just ridiculous and makes all of the Democrats look like morons and a bunch of DRAMA QUEENS!
Lissa @ 140:
Yeah because every minority is so disenfranchised even though supposedly the blacks are the reason we will win the General Election and without them we will lose! So tell me, which is it? Are blacks the major force of the Democratic base, or are they so disenfranchised that you need to march along with media to make this statement that deliberate disenfranchisement keeps black voters away from the polls? If they are so disenfranchised, then how come they are all claiming they vote? All of you spin things so much I am surprised you are not dizzy!
If they are so disenfranchised, then how come they are all claiming they vote? All of you spin things so much I am surprised you are not dizzy!
Right, 'cause if they've face disenfranchisement before, it means they can't vote ... EVER! Right?
Moron.
The county has tried to suppress the black vote, a dirty little secret in a dirty little county. Successful to some extent, failed to some extent. Now they're part of a national spectacle, which will make it harder to suppress the black vote again.
Your lame attempt as a false option fallacy, however, will die unnoticed and unmourned here. How sad.
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