Why do we vote

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Now that the hype has gone down a bit about Inauguration Day I want to shed light on the reasons we as a people choose to vote and should vote. Before I go there let’s back track and give credit where it’s due. I’m so honored to see a woman from the BIPOC community in the White House serving as the 46th Vice President of this country. I am honored because there has been yet another glass ceiling broken and it has given Women such as myself another space that we are able to enter into and bring about change. Vice President Kamala Harris may not be your cup of tea, but with her being in office this shows the power of the voice and the fight.

So why is it that we vote? Great question. One can argue that our votes do not count and that we are not going to be heard. I can see why this is believed and tends to hold us back from the polls when it comes time to vote. In history, white men were the first and only people that could vote and shortly after the 15th amendment was passed Black men were included in the population eligible to cast their vote; though this didn’t mean much of anything because if they tried they were attacked, lynched, presented with poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses that made sure they were ineligible to vote. Black men being eligible to vote and White women not being eligible to vote made white women furious. It made them feel as though the Black man was more important than the white woman. So, they fought. Not just white Women, but Black and Brown Women as well. However, white women suffragists wrote letters to express themselves and their concerns regarding Black men being eligible to vote over them and how it went against white supremacy and if they (white women) were included in the vote that white supremacy would be constitutional. This was a persuasive act that helped pass the 19th amendment in 1920 giving white Women the right to vote.

It’s often misconstrued that all women were able to vote when the 19th amendment passed, but the truth is that we were not and we had to stand up and fight again, but this time for us and not everyone else. The Voting Rights Act (1965) was passed to protect whites, Blacks, Native Americans, Chinese-Americans and their means to vote. Let’s do the math 45 years later after women were given the right to vote, but still women of certain ethnicities were denied that opportunity is a long fight, but a fight that came out with a victory. There are still barriers that are faced today such as some states denying anyone with a felony the right to vote if they’re serving their sentence or on parole, and in some states not having the right to vote ever again. Which stems from post Civil War attempts to keep African Americans from voting, as ex-felons are marginally poor and a large portion people who belong to BIPOC communities. This is just one example of a system that needs to be revisited and changed, but we don’t need the same people at the table who may not have the knowledge of what it means to suffer, to be different, or to fight for equality when you should be equally treated because you’re a human being. So, we vote, not just for the president, but for representation in Congress, because we know that representation matters and it helps. A fight fought is a fight fought rather it’s lost or won. We have to continue to fight, and if that means going to the polls to vote, protesting, being involved with your local NAACP chapter, or your local Urban League chapter, creating your own organization such as Africans on the Move or Literacy for Brown Girls; being more knowledgeable of history and present happenings, writing literature to help educate people, and just using your voice and your ability to stand for the things that matter and will help, then let’s fight.

The fight is never over. This is why we vote, because as we get people in office who either look like us and understand us or are allies who will listen and not continue to allow white supremacy to rule this country, we are able to make change. Who we see in the White House is progressive change. Does this mean we stop? No, we keep fighting for equality, because though it seems like the morally decent thing to do, we all don’t carry the same morals. So, the next time you throw your vote away, remember you’re throwing your voice away and your ancestors’ fight away, because no matter what you believe there are facts in history and presently, that proves where we are today is not where we were hundreds of years ago. Peace. Love. Blessings.