Voter's Rights, Gerrymandering & Fannie Lou Hamer

This week marks the 100th Anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It reads, in part: "The right of United States citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex."

Given this history, it's fitting to discuss gerrymandering, Civil Rights and Voter's Rights -- and most especially Fannie Lou Hamer. (Simply put, gerrymandering is the changing of voting districts that gives one political party an advantage; or disadvantages another party.)

Some readers may recall that one result of the 2018 election in Michigan was that a proposal to stop gerrymandering in Michigan passed.

The proposal requires Michigan officials to redraw at least 34 congressional and legislative districts for the 2020 election.

A three-judge panel had previously ruled that the current district maps in Michigan were unconstitutional and skewed power towards the Republicans, who currently hold the majority in the Michigan state legislature.

In fact, the judiciary panel, during the initial ruling, stated that the gerrymandering in Michigan was "of historic proportions" in violating the first and fourteenth amendments.

The issue resurfaced recently when Republicans in the state legislature filed a suit in federal district court to stop the re-districting from happening.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on this issue sometime this month.

That's because a host of other states, like North Carolina, Maryland and Ohio have similar issues with gerrymandering.

To find out how your own state may be doing in the fight against gerrymandering, you can visit Common Causes' website. The site's information is a little outdated, but at least you can get a basic idea of where things stand and catch up from there.

Closely linked to the issue of gerrymandering is the right to vote.

Fannie Lou Hamer/Life & Thyme

Back in October of last year, I wrote a blog piece on Fanny Lou Hamer who spent a very large portion of her adult life focused on overcoming Jim Crow laws in Mississippi. She paid a steep price for her involvement, including being beaten almost to death. If you missed reading about Hamer, it's worth a look.

Hamer was relentless, fearless and inspirational.

In the 1960s she traveled throughout the deep south taking up the cause of civil rights and, most especially, voter registration among people of color. When the Democrats refused to seat members from Mississippi's Freedom Democratic Party (who were mostly people of color) before the Convention of 1964, Hamer went to Washington to plead their case.

Fannie Lou Hamer's life should be an example to all of us.

Her groundwork resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1965. According to history.com, in Mississippi alone, the percentage of voter turnout among blacks rose from six percent in 1964 to fifty-nine percent in 1969!

We should actively stand against gerrymandering - which is unconstitutional, morally reprehensible and undermines our democracy.

We should take a stand for a truly democratic process that actively encourages people to register and then vote. It's shameful that Jim Crow still exists - in the north as well as the south.

We should actively resist efforts to suppress voter registration and voter's rights.

I encourage you to check out Common Causes' website, see where your state currently stands in regards to voter's rights and gerrymandering, and then follow-up and become involved at the local and state level!