Today is the day we celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. But do not believe for a minute that, despite their speeches and pithy tributes, neither Donald T**** or his MAGA’s are concerned with Dr. King or his legacy. For example:
In Red states throughout the South and Mid-West, MAGA-controlled statehouses have either diluted the Black vote through redistricting, or have simply gerrymandered them out of existence.
They have made it more difficult for voters to register by requiring multiple documents including but not limited to proof of citizenship such as passports or birth certificates, the last four digits of a social security number, current, valid state-issued photo identification, (in Texas, a student-in -residence’s ID is invalid but anyone’s hunting license is), current utility bills, bank statements, Social Security or government paychecks, or other government documents showing name and address.
Other have implemented programs for “scrubbing” voter registrations lists, removing thousands of otherwise qualified voters from the rolls. This includes, but is not limited to older citizens who no longer have or can easily obtain birth documents. It can also include others who have not voted continuously in previous elections.
Some scrubbing programs target voters whose addresses are not current. This especially impacts poor and underclass (ie: Black and Brown) citizens, the majority of whom are renters and move more often than middle and upper-class (White) citizens who live more permanently in houses they own.
And then there is Georgia. There, targeted by some of the restrictive laws already mentioned, Black voters have been further burdened by requirements such as limited numbers of ballot drop-off boxes and voting places. This has ensured that in large, predominant Black inner-city districts, voters must wait in line for hours to vote, while white voters in smaller towns and rural districts don’t. And in Georgia it is against the law to provide food or water to voters waiting in line.
The purpose of all these laws is to negatively impact the ability of Black, Brown and poor American citizens from exercising their Constitutional right to vote.. They are are blatant and unashamedly racist in intent and design.
So do not believe for a moment that T**** and his MAGA’s give a rat’s ass about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King’. If they had their way, they would erase it completely.
They are trying.
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