Black History

Why the 150th Anniversary of the 15th Amendment Deserves Your Attention in 2020

Published

5 years ago

February 11, 2020

As the 2020 Presidential campaign unfolds, history marks the 150^th anniversary of the 15^th Amendment which gave Black men the right to vote and paved the way for a short-lived chapter of political achievement upended by the brutally oppressive Jim Crow era.

“The ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 occurred at a time that different circles were debating who should have access to the franchise, especially given the fact that African Americans were newly-included citizens in the United States via the Fourteenth Amendment,” explains Dr. Shayla Nunnally, a Political Science professor at the University of Connecticut. “People debated whether black men should have the right to vote or whether white women should have the right to vote. The question about the franchise was posed in such a way that people were considering whether race should be accounted over gender in who would have access to the franchise, first.”

Fifty years passed before women gained the right to vote through the 19^th Amendment.

Nunnally says, “Black women also protested for this right, even though, because of their race, they were also discriminated against in discussions and protests in which they asserted their claims for the franchise. Even members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. participated in their first public act of social action by protesting in the mass, suffrage march on March 3, 1913 in Washington, D.C. in which they were forced to march at the back of the march, while white women were marching in front of them.”

By that time, racial violence and other tactics were being used to suppress the efforts of black men to vote. Many years passed and lives were lost as Black men and Black women sought to exercise their right to vote granted. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, borne of the marches and protests of The Civil Rights Movement, outlawed many of the discriminatory voting practices utilized in southern states to suppress the voice of Black Americans after the Civil War. It represented a major accomplishment for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the other courageous men and women who pushed President Lyndon B. Johnson to support the legislation.

Black Voting Rights in the 21^st Century

Yet, many are concerned about a lack of voter participation among Black Americans in the 21^st century.

“Since the 1960’s I believe that Black people have become largely complacent about exercising their rights and protesting. It takes a crisis to mobilize us,” says Matt Mixon, a former television executive who works with the voting outreach organization, Souls to the Polls. “We get comfortable, and we do not demand agenda items from the people we do elect, and we do not keep the pressure on them. I believe the Democratic Party takes us for granted largely and too many of us are apathetic.”

In Wisconsin where Mixon lives, he says “multiple organizations” are working to activate voters.

“I worked on this project in 2018, and we think we made a difference, but the job has gotten bigger if anything,” states Mixon.

Using his experience with media, Mixon “drags his camera around” to give voters an opportunity to voice their opinions. Some Wisconsin voters have protested the state’s plan to purge more than 209,000 voters from the rolls. They see it as an attempt to suppress the vote.

“It was frozen, put on pause by the state Appeals Court for the first two elections, but we still have to be on guard because the Republicans are trying to push this through,” Mixon explains. “Their main objective, I assume, is to try to help Donald Trump in November.”

Across the country, reports of voter suppression are increasing. And, Nunnally voices concern that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is vulnerable to judicial and legislative decisions.

“Today, this act is practically nullified, due to the Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder (2013) U.S. Supreme Court case, which found Section 4 of the act to be unconstitutional, and the U.S. Congress has not yet passed legislation to correct this unconstitutionality,” she adds.

For a group of Americans who have faced significant hurdles in their fight for the franchise, the future may involve more legal skirmishes, a dire reality unforeseen more than a century ago when passage of the 15^th Amendment suggested long-awaited and permanent electoral inclusion.

Black History

Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

Published

12 hours ago

April 24, 2025

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance.

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it.

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

Black History

President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

Published

4 months ago

January 9, 2025

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.

Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.

Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”

Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.

The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.

“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”

President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

Black History

The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

Published

4 months ago

January 3, 2025

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.