Essay Sample on Voter Suppression: Silencing Black Voices Since The Caw of Jim Crow

Much of America’s population believe that the black suffering ended once President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st of 1863, or even later at the end of the Civil War. However, the history of Africans in the United States was not a constant exponential growth of freedom and equality as most believe it to be: as post-Reconstruction saw a dramatic decline of black success in this country which continues to stall going into the Civil Rights movement and beyond. Today, remnants of the suppression of Black Americans had embedded itself into many parts of our modern-day society, including but not limiting our housing, healthcare, education. Of these factors is systemic racism rooted in our political representation of minorities– or voter suppression. Political representation, as a whole, is racist or otherwise unfair in reflecting the needs and expectations of the minority population. Acts such as Gerrymandering (Redlining), Identification laws, or more historically speaking poll taxes and literacy tests, all were organized for the purpose of removing or discouraging minorities from participating in United States politics. As it stands, it should be imperative that we improve the ability for minorities to vote, and that all American citizens have an equal and fair opportunity to voice their opinions through the voting ballots.

To provide forethought for the history of voter suppression of Black Americans, it should be first acknowledged that the undermining of black thought was not to be a ‘new idea’ introduced to legislation in the Southern United States, in that the intention for the suppression of the black vote was to be implemented once the white politicians felt “threatened” by the limited power that the Reconstruction era gave to the newly freed black population. 

To set in motion the history of voting and suppression for black people post-Civil War America, the Fifteenth Amendment decrees the right to vote for men of all races, which then massively swayed the voter turnout for the following general election of 1880. It was at the point near the end of the Reconstruction era that the first voter suppression policies against Black Americans began to take hold. Upheld by the Supreme Court until 1937 (Breedlove v. Suttles), the year 1890 saw the first poll tax, which required voters to pay certain fees before being allowed to vote. This varied among the southern states: for certain ones required the tax to be paid for several years before being permitted to vote, or in states such as Alabama, that had the tax be cumulated. This form of voter suppression saw the number of Black men remove themselves from the voting population, according to a publication from the National Low Income Housing Coalition– as the percentage of eligible black voters fell drastically from 90%, to less than 6% in 1892.1 Another historical form of voter suppression took form in literacy tests– used until an amendment was made to the Voting Rights Act in 1970. These tests further deprived poor and uneducated black voters, as these tests were often rigorous when applied to eligible minority voters. Most pointedly, these tests were popular even outside of the Southeastern United States (California and New York) as they were viewed to remove those unwanted from voting (such as the immigrant and poor population). Today, voter suppression against the minorities of the United States persist in forms related to Institutional Racism, with tactics such as Voter Identification laws and gerrymandering/redlining (used to minimize black voices and maximize white ones, nonetheless).

As mentioned previously, the acts for voter suppression continue, to contrast those that once again believe that outward racism in modern-day politics has ceased against African-Americans. Though policies to prevent certain communities from voting are put in place, as everyday people who fully participate in the shaping of our government we must acknowledge that no matter what ‘undertones’ there may be, such legislation is fully meant to discriminate and diminish a person. In an article published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 1 in 16 Black Americans cannot vote due to disenfranchisement laws. 2 With this in mind, those who have a strong voice in reversing such policies should do so with the intent of eliminating any possibility of Americans not being able to participate in the government they live under. Our local representatives should do more to protect our rights as American citizens to ensure that everyone has the opportunity not to be ignored. First, the process for voting should encourage people, young and old, to want to participate in making a difference in their government. For this to occur, voting should be made to be a fairly simple process. Factors such as having election day on a Tuesday (or otherwise on a day where many people work), or requiring people to register to vote weeks beforehand can discourage the average person from being able to vote. By having election day in the middle of the work week, many Americans might be unable to miss a day of work when they have families or themselves to provide for (this is especially true in areas of increased black populations where they may have fewer polling sites and poll workers to begin with). With the exception of more modern elections, many people tend to not be aware of when they should register to vote, if they remember at all. Voter registration, as it currently stands, is a massive proponent that influences voter turnout. Proposed amendments to these issues include making election day a bank holiday, or having compulsory voting both of which would lead to having a higher rate of voter turnout and make voting more accessible to our population.

The United States, as rich and white as its history tends to be, should begin to make strides to allow all individuals, no matter their race or ethnicity, to participate in its government that had once kept its minority population under shackles. As voter restrictions continue in our government system, its electoral process is further being exposed for its racist and classist past and present. But despite these policies that are beginning to resurface in certain states, it is simply not too late to reverse this new normal lawmakers intend to impose on the minority community. Legislative reforms may occur, and it would be a start to dismantling the foothold the racist policies had been inplace against Black people since this country’s inception. Though the United States has had a past deeply rooted in the suffering of Africans, any action to removing these laws would be a start to the breakdown of systemic racism in our government and society.