Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2015)
Opinion Voting Rights Celebration Dimmed “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ernie F oster Founder/Publisher B oBBie D ore F oster Executive Editor J erry F oster Advertising Manager C hristen M C C urDy News Editor P atriCia i rvin Graphic Designer a rashi y oung D onovan M. s Mith Reporters M oniCa J. F oster Seattle Office Coordinator J ulie K eeFe s usan F rieD Photographers hursday, Aug. 6, marks the 50th anniversary of Pres- ident Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the organization co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will hold a Call to Action Rally at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Martin Luther King Memorial on the Na- tional Mall. The NAACP hopes to cap its Selma, Ala. to Washington, D.C. relay march, called America’s Journey for Justice, in the nation’s capital on Sept. 16. Other celebratory activities are planned for different times. Considered among the most far-reaching legislation in histo- ry, the 1965 Voting Rights Act removed many of the impedi- ments to voting created by cities, counties and states that prevented many African Americans from ex- ercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Con- stitution. Dallas County, Ala., which in- cludes the city of Selma, was typ- T George E. Curry NNPA Columnist ical. As the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Wash- ington, D.C.-based think tank, ob- served, in 1965, more than half of Dallas County was Black. How- ever, of the county’s 15,000 vot- cials on April 7, 1965, known as “Bloody Sunday,” to stir the na- tion’s conscience against ballot box indignities. That provided the momentum for passage of the bill. “Only in the wake of the Voting Rights Act did black voter regis- tration in the South begin to ap- proach that of whites,” the Joint Center said in a report titled, “50 Years of The Voting Rights Act: The State of Race in Politics.” It continued, “Five years after the passage of the Act, the racial gap in voter registration in the former Confederate states had closed to single digits. By the start of the Since the 2010 election, 21 states have new laws making it harder to vote ing-age African Americans, only 156 were registered to vote. By contrast, two-thirds of voting-age Whites were registered. It took the savage beating of 600 protesters, including future U.S. Congressman John Lewis, by White law enforcement offi- 1970s, the Black/White registra- tion gap across the Southern states was little more than 8 percentage points.” In four of the 12 presidential elections since 1964, Black vot- ers have turned out at higher rates than their White counterparts, ac- cording to the Joint Center. And the number of Black elected of- ficials have increased from less than 1,000 in 1965 to more than 10,000 in 2015, including Presi- dent Barack Obama. While properly appreciating the accomplishments of the Voting Rights Act, we should not lose sight of the challenges that lie ahead. “Since the 2010 election, 21 states have new laws making it harder to vote – ranging from photo ID requirements to early voting cutbacks to registration restrictions – and 15 states will have them in place for the first time in a presidential election in 2016. Those 15 states are: Ala- bama, Indiana, Kansas, Missis- sippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Caro- lina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Read the rest at www.theskanner.com 2015 MERIT AWARDS WINNER The Skanner has received 20 NNPA awards since 1998 The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Blacks May Have Failed Sandra Bland, Too S andra Bland is dead. While many are concentrating on how she died, we must also face the reality of why she died. All of the circumstanc- es surrounding her death notwithstanding, Sandra is still dead. I cannot help but think that along the three- day period from her arrest James Clingman NNPA Columnist to her final moments in Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 E-mail: info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicit- ed. © 2015 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE- SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To view The Skanner website on your mobile device, scan this QR code • Local news • Opinions • Jobs, Bids • Sports • Entertainment • Music reviews • Bulletin board • RSS feeds Page 2 August 5, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner that lonely and frightening jail cell, there were oppor- tunities to rescue her from such a horrible experience and tragic end. This is not a rehash of all the conversations, utter- ances, conjecture and the- ories put forth after Sandra died. Rather, this is a sim- ple critique of what we all saw on video and heard from Sandra herself when she called someone to let them know her status, having received a $5,000 bond. To say the least, she was totally frustrated by the entire situation. Why Sandra Bland died is also obviously connect- ed to who played a role in her death, whether directly or indirectly. Where were the in- tervention points by which Sandra’s three days of horror could University, knew about the incident on the day it took place. If someone did know, did they follow up to check on Sandra and make an effort to help her? Surely, there are a couple of Black lawyers in Prairie View as well. I am not a lawyer, but I know there is something called “habeas corpus,” which directs a person, usually a prison warden or jailer, to produce the pris- oner and justify the prison- er’s detention. If the pris- Was there any way, leading up to her demise, for her to have survived? have been stopped? Was there any way, leading up to her de- mise, for her to have survived? My initial inquiry would be directed to- ward the person who shot the cellphone vid- eo, the one to whom the cop said, “You need to leave.” The bystander re- plied, “Is this public property?” That person obviously had enough backbone to refuse to leave and even ques- tion the officer’s order; thanking him for re- cording the incident, I would ask if he make any attempt to see what happened to Sandra af- ter she was taken away? In such a small town, I am sure the news of Sandra’s arrest got around pretty fast. I wonder if anyone at her new employer, Prairie View A&M oner argues successfully that the incarceration is in violation of a constitution- al right, the court may or- der the prisoner’s release. Am I misinformed about that legality? Finally, there was the $5,000 bond, which re- quired a 10 percent pay- ment – a measly $500 – for Sandra to be released. Does anyone believe that $500 was such an enor- mous amount of money that Black folks in Prairie View could not raise it to pay her bond? Even the full $5,000.00 could have been put up by a group of people until Sandra’s family was able to send or bring it to the court. Now we have to live with the fact that a major reason this young lady died is the lack of $500! Surely, her life was worth far more than that. Read the rest at www.theskanner.com
