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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1978)
Page 8 Portland Observer Section II Thursday. February 23. 1978 Democratic Party. If Blacks could be denied the right to vote in the Democratic primaries, then their political impact could be severely lessened. Several states took this route, and Blacks went to court again. And this was a twenty-five year battle. At first, in 1927. the Supreme Court held that a "state" eould not exclude Blacks (Nixon va. Herndon I. Then the state of Texas let the political .«arty exclude Blacks, and the Court, in Grovey vs. Townsend |1935* found this to be constitutional. Shortly afterwards, in 1941. the Court ruled, in a nonracial case, that the primary was an "integral part" of the election process. This was the trigger that set off a new round of attacks on the white primaries. From Texas, again, came Smith vs. Allwright. And the Supreme Court in 194-1 held in favor of the Black plaintiff. The Court held that while the political party conducted primaries in Texas, it did not under state authority. Only those nominees certified by the ;*rty could appear on the ballot for the general election as a candidate of a political party. “The party takes its character as a state agency from the duties imposed upon it by state sta tutes; the duties do not become matters of private law because they are performed by a political party." This effectively spelled the death of the white primary. Harassment Throughout this period, Blacks had to contend with white voter registrars who were applying different standards to white and Black applicants. Black prospec tive voters were tested strin gently (required to cross all “t's’ and dot all “i’s"; whites were frequently given assistance in becoming registered voters. In addition, in many places, especially in rural areas. Blacks had to contend with physical and economic harassment. Some would be fired from their jobs if they attempted to register (not to mention attempted to vote), some were lynched for engaging in voter registration and other political activities. The courts were exceptionally slow in deal ing with these extra-legal obsta cles, if only because it was very difficult to get hard, legal proof that such acts of intimidation took place or, in fact, were done in an effort to deny a person the right to vote. After all, if an employer wanted to fire an em ployee, there were innumerable excuses for doing so without stipulating punishment due to voter registration as the reason. It was not until the mid 1960's that the Federal Government (with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965» began to take a very active role in implement ing the clear mandate of the Fifteenth Amendment. The re suits were impressive. In 1961, Black voter registration in the eleven Southern states was 1,360.784. Ten years later, it was 3.448.565. In percentages, the increase in numbers of Black voters during this ten year period is especially dramatic: Mississippi, from 6.2 to 59.3; Arkansas, from 37.7 to 80.9; Alabama, from 13.7 to 54.6. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was. in important respects, a direct outgrowth of increased protest activity on the part of Blacks. Mass marches were held; voter registration drives were intensified, constant com plaints were filed with the De partment of Justice. It was clear from the heightened movement that Black Americans were not willing to accept their subordi nated political status and that they were able and willing to mount a sustained protest against the denial of political freedom on which this nation was reportedly founded. At the beginning of 1974, there were 2,556 Black elected officials in the United States: 17 U.S. Senators and Representatives; 239 state legislators and execu tives, 108 mayors; 1,142 other local officials; 172 judges and magistrates; 111 police chiefs and law enforcement officials; and 767 local school board mem bers. These figures reflect a rather substantial change in ab solute numbers over 1970 when there were, for example, only 40 mayors, 559 other local officials, 17 police chiefs and law enforce ment officials. But even in 1974, Black elected officials represent ed only one-half of one percent of the nation's total elective jobs. Politics in the North: Different Place; Different Problems If Blacks in the South had to devote many years and protract ed court battles simply to estab lish the right to vote, that was not the story in the North. Beginning with World War I, hundreds of thousands of Black people migrated to the urban areas of the North. Seeking better economic ties, an escape from the oppressive social and political conditions of the South, these migrants flocked to New York, Chicago, Detroit, and sev era! other places. Voting in these cities did not present the kinds of arduous obstacles faced in the South, but they came into places where there were entrenched political party machines. Carol B ry a n t In some places, such as Chica go and New York, the local white party bosses welcomed them into the party - both Republican and Democratic. But the Blacks were not seen as voters who would take their places as co-equals in the party structures. In New York, the Democratic Party set up a segregated unit, the United Colored Democracy, and isolated Black voters in that structure. In Chicago, the Republican Party land later the Democratic Party) also brought them in and rele gated them to subordinate sta tus. The white bosses wanted to use the Black voters to help them with elections, but they were not willing to permit them to assume legitimate roles of leadership within the party. This meant that the Blacks gave more than they received. They were not permitted to become ward lead ers and precinct captains in their own districts. Black districts were gerrymandered so as not to allow the Blacks to gam hege mony over any viable part of such roles party structure. Those Black political activists who sought such roles were relegated as supplicants to the established white party functionaries. Operating within one of the two major parties was a rather complicated matter: technical rules for getting on the ballot had to be mastered; the entrenched party had many patronage (low paying) jobs to hand out. thus buying off the Black newcomers. And. of course, most of the Southern Migrants did not bring with them a heritage of estab lished political participation. They were not particularly ac customed or adept at functioning in a complicated and at times highly competitive electoral prts cess. Thus, many Blacks either voted the way the local party liosses directed them to vote or they did not participate, elector ally, at all. Politics of Protest and Political Self-ConscMMisness While Blacks did not enter into the electoral arena with full and effective force, this is not to suggest that they did not develop some politically attentive organi ¡salions. The National Associa tion for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), found ed in 1909. merged with the Niagara Movement, led by W.E.B. DuBois, and established a strong record in fighting for civil rights in such areas as housing, anti-lynching, education and public accomodations segre gation. Branches were establish ed throughout the country, and Kids don’t know any better. None of us are born prejudiced. It's something we have to learn. But if we can learn to hate, we can also learn to un-hate. Simply by trying to understand the Other Side. Then, maybe we can all start acting like kids again. Democrat for State Representative THIS IS THE TIME FOR FOOTSOLDIERS, NOT KAMIKAZE PILOTS. - Barbara Jordan IWY Conference 1977, Houston, Texas Carol Bryant for State Representative Committee, Bob Smith, Treasurer 130 N.E Holland St. • Portland, OR 97211 • 285-0 060 This m essage is from all the kids at U.S. Bank.
