As Ferguson and the outcry from Newbury Street in Boston
dies down, I am left with a rather empty feeling. Of the people who protested in the streets of
Ferguson or marched on Newbury Street, I wonder how many voted. In its August 15 Monkey Cage blog, entitled “How
Ferguson Exposes Racial Bias in Local Elections”, the Washington Post states
that the turnout for the 2013 municipal elections in Ferguson among African
Americans was 6%. In the 2014 elections,
the mayor ran unopposed, winning 97% of the paltry 1,484 votes cast. Those 1,484 votes were out of a total of
12,096 registered voters, meaning only 12% of registered voters even bothered
to vote. And it bears mentioning that
while Ferguson is 67% African American, its City Council is 83% White.
Ferguson is not an anomaly.
It is what happens when Black people don’t vote. When a certain sector of the population
doesn’t vote, its interests aren’t represented.
That’s how electoral politics works.
We can no longer rely on the tactics of yesteryear to solve our
problems. We need to embrace our full
citizenship, brought to you by our mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers
and VOTE. And if we are not satisfied
with the roster of candidates, we need to select someone to run and vote for
them.
Instability plus anger leads to a community forever reliant
on the charity of others. Change comes
from individual participation. Talk is
cheap, but real change starts with each of us participating in our local and
national elections. The only way that we
can ensure that Ferguson never happens again is to Elect. Select. And
Re-elect.
Select: Find someone who interests you or that you can get
interested in your issues. Your vote
should not be free, it should come with qualifiers, such as representing the
interests of my community. If you cannot
find someone to support, then run for office and find someone to support you!
Elect: This year in various communities across the United
States we are fortunate to have a record number of Black candidates running for
office across the political landscape.
In addition, prospective elected officials of all hues are visiting our
communities, asking for our vote. If the
legislative body at the municipal, state and federal levels does not reflect
our communities and our needs we only have ourselves to blame. We have to get involved, not just for federal
elections but every election.
Re-elect: We have to
invest in our candidates with real capital.
From now on… the money you would
spend on your Air Jordans, Coach or other swag accessories, spend on your candidates
of choice and hold them accountable for your vote. Make sure they hear your voice loud and
often. If you your elected
representatives are not representing your community then start collective
procedures to remove them. And if you
believe in them, re-elect them.
So, are we in for a new day? Will our “never again” start here? It remains to be seen. Although in less than two months Ferguson
turned up the fire with over 3,200 new voter registrants, the question is will
they vote? In our various communities the
only way to ensure that Ferguson never happens is to vote. To your friends who don’t vote, ask: will you vote to ensure that Ferguson never
happens here?
Send this to 7 of your friends and you will have good voting
luck today.
