See you at the ballot box...

With the election in the US just over a week away, I thought I would highlight some voting history and stories for inspiration.

Although history shows that the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in 1870 did give Black men the right to vote, it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that many of the large, legal barriers preventing them from voting were removed. In fact, there are many stories of Black men who cast a vote and it cost them their life.

One such story was Maceo Snipes, a Black WWII veteran who cast his vote on July 17, 1946 in Taylor County Georgia, and was the only Black person to do so in that county. Snipes had been warned by white people in town who threatened his life if he voted. Three white men came to his house two days after he voted and shot him. His mother took him to hospital and there he waited for six hours before he was seen in a room not much bigger than a closet. Doctors were able to remove the bullets, but without a blood transfusion he would die, and the hospital was out of “Black blood.” He died on July 20th, at just 37 years old.

It was only 100 years ago when Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919, which gave women the right to vote. During the World War I, the National Women’s Party picketed the White House in 1917 demanding the right to vote. More than 200 women were arrested in the protest, and about 100 jailed. Some of those imprisoned began a hunger strike, and eventually many of the hunger strikers were force-fed behind bars. The publicity around this protest was a key driver in gaining support for the 19th Amendment.

Remembering both the 15th and 19th Amendments is a critical reminder that we should never take our right to vote for granted. Last week, I came across a story of Mildred Madison, a 94-year-old woman, who had her son drive her 330 miles each way so she could vote. She had been living with her son in Illinois since late last year and had not received her absentee ballet from Michigan. They took off at around 6:30AM and she voted in Detroit. Mildred got her start in the PTA, and had a history of being involved in politics. When she became the first Black president of the League of Women Voters in Cleveland, she worked to bring the final presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter to the city.

Donning a black mask with the word "vote" on it, Madison arrived ready to vote. Her son pushed her in a wheelchair to get her to the voting line.

“At least I made it. I made it and voted for the people I wanted to vote for, and I hope they win. But I felt satisfied that I was not going to miss voting. I've been voting in every election, whether it was city, state, county or national for the last 72 years.” – Mildred Madison

This year we have already read stories and seen photos of long lines of people trying to vote, and so many stories of voter suppression. Each of us needs to take the effort to make change and make things better in our communities and our country. In a way, it reminds me of our students and teachers in Zambia that walk long distances each day, come rain or shine, for the right to get an education. Students in our schools walk up to 3 hours each way each day to go to school, so that they can make change and improve their lives and futures.

“That's what voting's about, making things better, not making things perfect, but putting us on track so that a generation from now we can look back and say, ‘Things got better starting now’… Voting's about using the power we have and pooling it together to get a government that's more concerned and more responsive and more focused on you and your lives and your children and your grandchildren and future generations. And the fact that we don't get 100% of what we want right away is not a good reason not to vote. It means we've got to vote and then get some change and then vote some more and then get some more change, and then keep on voting until we get it right.” – Barack Obama 2020

So I for one, will see you at the ballot box – come rain or shine.

-Katie