As a Black Woman, This is Why I Vote

This is such an especially poignant time for voting, given the upcoming 2020 election in the United States and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. Unfortunately, for many decades after its passage and almost a century after ratifying the 15th Amendment in 1870, which granted African American men the right to vote, many African Americans were unable to vote because of discrimination and disenfranchisement practices in Southern states. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the majority of African Americans in the United States could finally freely vote in this country!

Growing up in a rural town only 38 miles south of Selma, Alabama, I heard stories about Civil Rights freedom fighters and voting rights advocates and leaders, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Congressman John Lewis, who conducted protest marches from Selma to the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. I spent many weekends driving across the Selma bridge with my family, less than a decade before Rep. John Lewis was beaten as he marched along with other activists advocating for black citizens’ right to vote. This happened on March 7, 1965 and would become known as “Bloody Sunday,” which is now commemorated each year in Selma in honor of Congressman Lewis and others’ sacrifices, and in celebration of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Last month, we lost Congressman Lewis, who fought most of his life for the rights of all people to be treated humanely and who served this country as a member of Congress for 33 years. I was honored to pay my respects, along with my dad, as his body lay in state at the Georgia State Capitol. The sacrifice and blood Congressman Lewis gave on that bridge and his lifelong fight for equality, freedom, and justice will never be forgotten.

So understandably, I always feel honored to cast my vote whenever an election comes around. I haven’t missed an election since I first registered to vote on my 18th birthday, August 26th, the day the 19th Amendment officially became law! Now, more than ever, all voters need to use our voices to protest against the continued inequalities and injustices of this country by voting in record numbers in this November’s election!

By Tryshanda Moton
Area VP, GESTA-IFPTE Local 29