If we, the people, face a national emergency, it is widespread voter suppression and systematic disenfranchisement.
Authors/Essays
Each edition of the State of Black America contains thoughtful commentary and insightful analysis from leading figures and thought leaders in politics, the corporate arena, NGOs, academia and popular culture. Learn more about the dynamic authors who contributed essays spanning from education and entrepreneurship to media and social justice.
Voting Rights and Voter Suppression: The Latino Experience
Today, perhaps no single issue is more important to African-Americans, Latinos, and other communities of color than protecting the right to vote for all Americans.
Countering Authoritarian Interference in Democracies
In January 2017, the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) released “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections,” its report evaluating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The report provided a strategic autopsy which explored the mechanics and escalation of cyber-espionage and covert operations orchestrated by a Russian-controlled propaganda apparatus.
Displaced and Replaced: Gentrification is the 21st Century “Negro Removal” Program
Gentrification has emerged as a major threat to Black communities that have been centers of Black political, civic, business, economic and cultural development for generations. Gentrification has become a watchword signaling the displacement of Black people and Black culture. In short, gentrification is the “Negro Removal Program” of the 21st century.
In 1963, African-American author and activist James Baldwin observed that “urban renewal” is often the first step on the destructive path to “Negro removal.”
The High Cost of Not Voting: Voter Suppression and the Racial Income Gap
Like so much else in the United States, voting is strongly correlated with income [1]. Conventional wisdom might assume that individuals experiencing economic hardship would be more inclined to get involved in the political process—if only to ameliorate their day-to-day economic concerns, but a report by the Scholars Strategy Network[2] finds that citizens who vote tend to have higher incomes. Unemployment, poverty and economic insecurity has as much an effect on suppressing voter participation as draconian voter ID laws and poll closings.
Race, Lies and Social Media: How Russia Manipulated Race in America and Interfered in the 2016 Elections
Have you met Luisa Haynes? She was a prolific force in the #BlackLivesMatter community on Twitter. In just over a year, she amassed more than 50,000 followers; and her outspoken, viral takes on everything from Beyoncé to police brutality earned her hundreds of thousands of retweets and media coverage in more than two dozen prominent news outlets.
New Voters Claim a Seat at Democracy’s Table
You can easily find a host of articles that describe Dallas as the city with the lowest voter turnout in municipal elections among the 33 largest cities in the United States. As evidence, the last mayoral election in Dallas saw a meager voter turnout of about seven percent of all registered voters. The numbers are grimmer for registered 18-34 year olds. Only 1.7 percent actually made it to the polls during early voting and on Election Day.
Where My Voters At?: Meeting Young Voters at the Intersection of Adversity and Action
In 2004, I escorted Missy Misdemeanor Elliott—the multi-hyphenated talent, Grammy Award-winner and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee—to the polls to vote for her first time. Like so many young people and people of color, Missy felt alienated from the voting process and did not recognize her power in our shared democracy. But moved by the issues she faced in her community growing up, and empowered by a budding movement that would ultimately become the Hip Hop Caucus, Missy felt compelled to finally exercise her sacred right as an American citizen.
Setting the Captives Free: Working to Get to Equal
Getting to equal means ensuring that all our brothers and sisters have the opportunity to participate civically in state, local, and national elections. Since 1868, Florida’s constitution inserted and enshrined an all-too-common contradiction into one of America’s founding principles: that all her people are created equal. Men and women who strayed from the path but paid their debt to society were not allowed to rejoin it as productive citizens. A felony conviction sentenced formerly incarcerated persons to a lifetime without true freedom and without a voice to support positive change.
Black Joy, Black Power, Black Votes
Black voters have a lot to celebrate. Investments we’ve made in Black voters over the last several years have predictably paid off, and we are steadily moving toward the full realization of our electoral power. Everyone else should celebrate, too. When Black voters win, everybody wins because no progressive change happens without Black voters. We usher in candidates who champion progress on the economy, criminal justice, healthcare, the environment and more.