‘Before the trust of becoming a member of this honorable body was conferred upon me by my constituents I freely stated to them my ernest conviction that the work of this convention in order to be successful must restrict the franchise by prescribing such qualification for voters as what reduce the Negro vote considerably below the white vote of the state and such restrictions of course to be fairly applied and only affecting the color devote to a greater or less or extent because of the inferior development in the line of civilization”

These words were uttered by Isaiah T. Montgomery founder, Mayor of Mound Bayou and a Republican delegate to the Mississippi constitutional convention on September 18, 1890. In the 19th century, these words coming from a Mississippian would not be a surprise to anyone. They might come as a surprise however, when one discovers that the man espousing these words was black. There are some who would ask that people view these words in the context of the times in which these words were spoken. After all Booker T. Washington‘s Atlanta compromise was along the same lines. While there has always been people of the oppressed class who rationalized their conditions, others such as W.E.B. DuBois, a contemporary of Montgomery and Washington, were more courageous and realistic in their assessment and prescription for the resolution of their oppressed condition.

One hundred and thirty years later these words have been embodied in the actions of the Georgia GOP led legislature seeking to take over the elections of Fulton County which is a heavily democrat and African American county. Their goal is to restrict the power of the black vote as it pertains to the political power structure of Georgia.

The black vote which salvaged the campaign of then candidate Joseph Biden from oblivion and into the White House and propelled the candidacies of Reverend Rafeal Warnock and Jon Ossoff into the United States Senate is now under attack by a GOP that believes it’s secret to success on a national level is to restrict the black vote by any means necessary.

The GOP, a political party threatened by diminishing numbers has made a calculation that the key to its survival lies in the aforementioned words of Isaiah T. Montgomery. In the 19th century, Mr. Montgomery use the term ‘inferior development in the line of civilization” to deny black voters. In 2021, the GOP is using the unfounded charge of election fraud.

Across the nation, ordinances and legislation are being passed by republicans to diminish the strength of the black vote.

While this debacle can be mitigated by the passage of the John Lewis bill known as HR4, it’s passage has been hampered by people such as West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin whose actions or lack thereof are more akin to a closet klansman  than a defender of democracy.

Unfortunately, the black vote has always been anathema to a segment of the southern and northern white community. This animosity, couched in faux intellectualism or fake charges of fraud, toward the black vote is nothing new. Conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. wrote in his infamous article “Why the South must win” The central question that emerges,”  , “is whether the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally, in areas in which it does not predominate numerically?” … The sobering answer is Yes —  the White community is so entitled because, for the time being, it is the advanced race. It is not easy, and it is unpleasant, to adduce statistics evidencing the median cultural superiority of White over Negro: but it is a fact that obtrudes, one that cannot be hidden by ever-so-busy egalitarians and anthropologists. The question, as far as the White community is concerned, is whether the claims of civilization supersede those of universal suffrage. The British believe they do, and acted accordingly, in Kenya, where the choice was dramatically one between civilization and barbarism, and elsewhere; the South, where the conflict is by no means dramatic, as in Kenya, nevertheless perceives important qualitative differences between its culture and the Negroes’, and intends to assert its own. NATIONAL REVIEW believes that the South’s premises are correct. If the majority wills what is socially atavistic, then to thwart the majority may be, though undemocratic, enlightened. It is more important for any community, anywhere in the world, to affirm and live by civilized standards, than to bow to the demands of the numerical majority.

There are none on the GOP side including Senator Tim Scott, considered by some some to be a modern day Isaiah T. Montgomery, who acknowledge the egregious nature of these legislative attempts.

The critical question is how shall the African-American community effectively fight back against these attacks on their voting rights.

The most obvious offensive is to turn out the largest number of voters humanly possible. Here is where the work of people such as Stacy Abrams and others is critical. There must also be an educational campaign to provide information about the importance of elections below the level of Congress, Senate and President. The idea of who is elected to the State  Supreme Court, office of district attorney etc. and others is equally important.

There must also be an effort to identify and mentor potential candidates for state wide and local offices across the nation.

One of the most powerful tools along with voter registration, voter mobilization and voter turnout is a clear and concise political cost that is paid by those who would advocate this move towards voter suppression. It is not enough for All Star games to leave the state of Georgia and go elsewhere. But those who are presently in office must pay the ultimate political price which is losing their political position.

Another tool is to begin the process of establishing political allies in this fight. Not all who consider themselves conservative or Republican, support this effort by the GOP party. It is time to create partnerships across ideological and party lines so that a more concise price is paid by those political operatives who have signed on to this voter repression strategy. 

The American political system needs two healthy political parties that represent different ideologies and ideas. There are those who will say that there is a war for the soul of the GOP. Make no mistake, that fight within the GOP is over and it has been won by the extreme lunatic fringe.

The Democratic Party which is engaged in a ideological conflict of its own between moderates and progressives, risk losing the last bastion of protection against GOP lunacy by its infighting and obvious political positioning designed for their own power and not for their constituents. 

A word of caution must be given. There will be an attempt by so called black conservatives to draw black people out of the Democrat party to create something new. While Blacks must do more to make their present political home more responsive to their issues, this would be a Pyrrhic victory at best. The problem with this is that if you draw people from the Democrat community to go to something else that is conservative in nature, you guarantee victories for the present GOP.

It is important to remember that the narrative of voter suppression should not be defined simply as an attack on African-American voters. The reality is that as the present GOP has become the political epicenter for insurrectionists, domestic terrorist sympathizers, pro-authoritarian sentiments, their actions are an affront to the system of democracy. Their suppression strategy has implications for issues from a woman’s right to choose, marriage equality, criminal justice, healthcare, immigration, police reform, climate change among others. For good or bad, the Democrat Party as flawed as it is remains as the only electoral bulwark against the anti-democracy actions of the GOP.

America is in a precarious position. Insurgencies are being protected. Domestic terrorism is on the rise, voting rights are under attack and attacks are waged against protection from Covid 19 and it’s variants. As this article was being written, a bomb threat was made at United States library of Congress. In response to this bomb threat, Republican Congressman Mo Brooks said “ I understand the anger directed at dictatorial socialism”

While the GOP’s frontal attack is against the African American vote the consequences will be felt across the American landscape.