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They fought for our right to vote and suffered… We must Vote!


This post had to be reposted as we count down to the 2022 midterms

 
 
 

Over 50 years ago, African-Americans made up 45% of Mississippi’s population, but fewer than 7% of  Mississippians were registered to vote.

In June of 1964, civil rights groups came together to kick off Freedom Summer, a 10-week campaign to dramatically increase the number of registered black voters in the state.

More than 1,000 volunteers of all races and colors, from all over the nation, traveled to Mississippi to do this important work. While there, youth volunteers and their black Mississippian supporters suffered unimaginable levels of vitriol and violence, but they did not stop fighting for what was right.

In the end, Freedom Summer emerged as a defining moment in the civil rights movement, pushing our country one step closer to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The best way we can honor the work, bravery, and sacrifice of the Freedom Summer volunteers is to exercise the right they fought for so diligently.

Honor the mission of Freedom Summer by pledging to vote in this year’s midterm election.

The extremely low levels of black voter registration in the South were fueled by generations of discriminatory elections practices. States were legally able to hold whites-only primaries, collect poll taxes, and administer literacy tests. When legal barriers weren’t enough, lynchings and bombings—threats and fulfilled promises—kept even more African-Americans away from the polls.

Fifty years later, legislators are attempting to take us backward to 1964, weakening the VRA, making it ever harder for the poor and people of color to have their voices heard at the polls.

Don’t allow these lawmakers to roll back history. They can only win and keep their seats in office when people like you and I stay home during midterm elections.

Raise your voice against those who seek to violate civil rights and human rights. Make a pledge to vote this November:

http://action.naacp.org/My-Vote-2014

In solidarity,

Lorraine C. Miller
Interim President and CEO
NAACP
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1862 US President Abraham Lincoln says he will free slaves in all states on Jan 1


The Civil War began in 1861 as a struggle over whether states had the right to leave the Union. President Abraham Lincoln firmly believed that a state did not have that right. And he declared war on the southern states that tried to leave.

But the fight to preserve the nation was going badly. By summer of 1862, Union troops had not won a decisive victory in Virginia, the heart of the Confederacy. And the war was losing support with politicians and the public in the north. President Lincoln had to do something to guarantee their continued support.

President Abraham Lincoln, center, in Maryland after the Battle of Antietam in 1862
President Abraham Lincoln, center, in Maryland after the Battle of Antietam in 1862

Finally, in September 1862, the Union successfully stopped the Confederate invasion of Maryland. The armies of Union general George McClellan and Confederate general Robert E. Lee battled near Antietam Creek. Almost 100,000 men fought. More than 23,000 were killed, wounded or missing.

Antietam was a violent, savage battle — the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. But the North’s victory there made it easier for Abraham Lincoln to make an important announcement.

Lincoln decided to recognize that slavery was, in fact, a major issue in the war. On September 22, 1862, he announced a new policy on slavery in the rebel southern states. His announcement became known as the Emancipation Proclamation.

learningenglish.voanews.com

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Documentary Offers Detailed Portrait of James Meredith – at 6pm


Emily Howorth

A documentary about the life and sociocultural contributions of James Meredith will be screened next week at the University of Mississippi. “Mississippi Messiah” provides a comprehensive biography of Meredith, who integrated the university in 1962.

The screening, at 6 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 20) in Fulton Chapel, is among a series of events commemorating the university’s 60th anniversary of integration. The event is free and open to the public.

Kathleen Wickham, professor of journalism, proposed the film’s screening after viewing it at the 2022 Oxford Film Festival.

“When we talk about James Meredith, so much of it is about politics and strategy,” Wickham said. “There is less known about him as a man and his impact on the Black community. That’s one of the threads that I saw in the documentary that made it stand out from other documentaries that I’ve seen about him.

For the complete article: hottytoddy.com

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