>>>
>>> WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE. THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF
FEBRUARY, BLACK HISTORY MONTH,
I'LL SHARE STORIES HIGHLIGHTING
ISSUES AND PEOPLE MAKING A
DIFFERENCE.
DIFFERENCE. TONIGHT I AM FOCUSING ON THIS
YEAR'S THEME.
YEAR'S THEME. AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE VOTE.
200 MARKS THE 150th ANNIVERSARY
OF THE 15th AMENDMENT WHICH
GAVE THE RIGHT OF BLACK MEN TO
VOTE FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR.
TO UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT, WE
MUST FIST VISIT THE PAST.
THE YEAR WAS 1964 ST THEE THREE
METROPLEX WERE KEELED BY
MEMBERS OF THE KKK -- KILLED BY
MEMBERS OF THE KKK IN
MISSISSIPPI ST THEY WERE
CAMPAIGNING FOR ALL BLACK
MESHES TO GET THE RIGHT --
AMERICANS TO GET THE RIGHT TO
VOTE.
VOTE.
VOTE. WITH U YEAR LATER IN AUGUST OF
1965, PRESIDENT JOHNSON SIGNED
THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
BUT 55 YEARS LATER, KEITH MAYS
SAYS THE FIGHT ISN'T OVER.
>> THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN VOTE IS
UNDER ATTACK.
UNDER ATTACK. >> HE IS A PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN-
AMERICAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES A
THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA.
HE SAYS THE NATIONAL BLACK
HISTORY THEME FOR 2020 SPEAKS
TO THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR THE
RIGHT TO VOTE.
>> COLLECTIVELY BLACK PEOPLE
DON'T REALLY GET THE RIGHT TO
VOTE UNTIL 1965 WITH THE VOTING
RIGHTS ACT.
RIGHTS ACT. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT --
UNDERSTAND WHAT IS TAKING
PLACE, WHICH IS TO SAY THERE
ARE PEOPLE WHO STAY UP EVERY
NIGHT LOOKING TO TAKE THAT
RIGHT AWAY FROM US.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT ARE THE
VOTER SUPPRESSION LAWS THAT YOU
SEE IN EVERY SINGLE STATE IN
THE UNION, AND I THINK THAT IF
ONE WOULD PUT THE VOTER
REGISTRATION LAWS, VOTER
SUPPRESSION LAWS INTO CONTEXT,
YOU CAN ACTUALLY COMPARE THEM
TO SOME OF THE JIM CROW LAWS
THAT WERE PASSED IN THE LATE
19th, EARLY 20th CENTURY,
MAINLY THE POLL TAX, THE
GRANDFATHER CLAUSE AND THE
LITERACY TAX.
LITERACY TAX. >> AS AMERICA PREPARES FOR THE
2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION --
PREPARES FOR THE 2020 MINGS
ELECTION, MAYS SAYS THERE ARE
ALREADY TACTICS UNDER WAY TO
SUPRESS THE BLACK VOTE.
>> WE HAVE VOTER SUPPRESSION
LAWS.
LAWS.
LAWS. NEW
LAWS. NEW ONES.
NEW ONES.
NEW ONES. VOTER I.D.
VOTER I.D. WE'RE GOING TO GET RID OF EARLY
REGISTRATION.
REGISTRATION. WE'RE GOING TO GET RID OF --
WE'RE GOING TO DURE TAIL VOTER
-- CURTAIL VOTER REGISTRATION
DRIVES.
DRIVES.
DRIVES. YOU SEE THE SAME THING TODAY
WITH THE VOTER I.D.
LAW.
LAW.
LAW. NOTHING ON THE FACE OF IT THAT
SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT RACE, BUT
THEY KNOW THAT AFRICAN-
AMERICANS, PARTICULARLY AFRICAN-
AMERICAN WHOSE ARE POORER WHO
MAY NOT HAVE A LOT OF MEANS,
WHO MAKE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF
MONEY EVERY YEAR, THEY KNOW FOR
A FACT THAT THEY ARE MORE
LIKELY THAN NOT TO CARRY A
GOVERNMENT-ISSUED I.D.
GOVERNMENT-ISSUED I.D. AND SO THAT IS HOW THEY GET US.
MANY OF US MAY NOT BE
REGISTERED, SO WE SHOW UP ON
ELECTION DAY AND REGISTER THAT
SAME DAY.
SAME DAY.
SAME DAY. BUT THEY'RE TAKING AWAY OUR
RIGHT TO REGISTER ON ELECTION
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. THE
DAY. THE SUPPRESSION IS ALREADY
UNDERWAY.
UNDERWAY.
UNDERWAY. THE QUESTION BECOMES CAN THE
TURN OUT MITIGATE AGAINST THE
SUPPRESSION?
SUPPRESSION? >> AND WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT TURN
OUT, HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE
BLACK VOTER TURN OUT.
AND WHEN HE TALKED ABOUT
SUPPRESSION, HERE IS AN EXAMPLE
HE POINTED TO.
IN TEXAS STATE LAWMAKERS WANT
CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR PEOPLE
WHO IMPROPERLY FILL OUT VOTER
REGISTRATION FORMS.
REGISTRATION FORMS. IF YOU WORK IN ARIZONA, SOME
REPUBLICANS THERE PROPOSE NEW
VOTING RULES, COMPLICATING
SPLITTING AN EARLY BALLOT, AND
IN TENNESSEE GOP LAWMAKERS ARE
CONSIDERING A BILL THAT WOULD
FINE GROUPS INVOLVED IN VOTER
REGISTRATION DRIVES, WHICH IS
SOMETHING WE HAVE SEEN AFRICAN-
AMERICANS DOING FOR DECADES.
>> ALL OF THESE REASON WHYS
VOTING THE FOCUS OF BLACK --
REASONS WHY VOTING THE FOCUS OF
BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
>> ONE THING THE PROFESSOR HAS
ALWAYS SAID TO ME WHICH IS SO
SILLY.
SILLY.
SILLY. YOU CAN'T ASSUME SOMETHING IS
MONOLITHIC.
MONOLITHIC. WE DON'T CALL IT WHITE VOTE.
>> I THINK WHEN THEY'RE SAYING,
WHEN PEOPLE SAY THE BLACK VOTE,
THEY'RE SAYING AS A BLACK
PERSON, YOUR