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.