By Faye Porter
So, somehow in my finite mind, I thought that before my tenure on earth was done that I would see a united America. You know, the kind of American that has existed in the minds of many black and brown people for centuries. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, that America is a figment of the imagination.
One of the biggest issues of the day and of years to come is voter suppression. Voting should be easy and accessible. The GOP, the Grand Old Boys club has introduced more than 400 anti-voting bills in 48 states. If these attempts at voter suppression succeed, there will be no will of the people. Especially for those who are not white. Especially for those who are poor, disabled and those who seek gender equality, just to name a few.
Republicans try to justify their reasoning for blocking sweeping voting rights legislation in the Senate by claiming that voting rights legislation would result in a power grab. Damn right it would! Legislation should be decided by the people that voted legislators into office. Not for the politicians personal interests.
Black, brown, and white people have cried, died, sang, and marched for the right to vote. They were spat upon, beaten, called horrific names and treated as if they were inhuman. And what has changed? Not very much. We all owe a debt of gratitude for those who sacrificed, many with their lives. Yet, there is one very effective strategy that has not been tried. Continuous, ongoing financial protests.
Financial protests are the foundation of the Black Dollar Day's Initiatives mission. The Black Dollar Days Initiative is "an ongoing initiative designed to use financial protests as leverage to reposition our dollars and control the profit of the companies that use OUR money to enforce racist policies."
We must use the leverage of our financial power to fight against the voter suppression laws that are rampant in America. One examples of the suppression tactics are Restricting the terms and requirements of registration. Restrictions can include requiring documents to prove citizenship or identification, onerous obstacles for voter registration drives, or limiting the window of time in which voters can register.
One example of voter suppression is Voter Registration Restrictions. Restricting the terms and requirements of registration is one of the most common forms of voter suppression. Restrictions can include requiring documents to prove citizenship or identification, onerous obstacles for voter registration drives, or limiting the window of time in which voters can register.
Another example of voter suppression is the criminalization of the ballot box. In Georgia, In Georgia, lawmakers have made it a crime to provide food and water to voters standing in line at the polls. Lines are often very long in Georgia, especially for communities of color. In Texas, people have been arrested and given outrageous sentences for what amount at most to innocent mistakes made during the voting process.
The Black Dollar Days Initiative current financial protests are aimed at stopping voter suppression and stopping the murders of unarmed black and brown people at the hands of the police.
We cannot continue to buy products from the same entities that seek to enslave or kill us, in various ways. Does that sound horrific to you? It should....ask those who were trapped in the bottom of slave ships. Didn't they have rights too? But no one cared. Now, we must do what we must do.