To circumvent the will of the voters represents the epitome of voter suppression. The end of the Civil War followed by reconstruction gave rise to Jim Crow which ultimately led to significant numbers of African Americans being denied their right to vote. Historically, nearly 100 years passed before the passage of the Voting Rights Act which was in part to insure that African Americans are able to exercise their right to vote.
It is a well-known fact across this country that the only school districts that have had their elected school boards stripped of their powers and replaced by appointed boards are in urban areas with significant numbers of African Americans and poor people. The reason given is that a takeover was necessary due to the poor performance of the school district, yet there are predominantly white rural districts in virtually the same shape and no one even dares to suggest a takeover.Â
This is exactly what we have seen play out over the past 10 years in the state of Missouri. The school districts in Missouri whose elected schools boards were replaced by appointed boards are Kansas City, Wellston, St. Louis Public, Riverview Gardens and Normandy, all predominantly African-American districts. With respect to St. Louis Public schools, the elected board has not been returned to power even after more than a year of being fully accredited. Why?
There are forces afoot in St. Louis who believe that they know better what is best for the district than those chosen by the citizens of St. Louis to govern the district. They sing a song about how the elected board cannot be trusted and then cite horror stories that are nearly 20 years old as justification. The elected board today is a totally different board than any other board in the past. In fact come January, the board members will include a community activist, several parents/grandparent and a celebrated former administrator and former St. Louis American Foundation Lifetime Achiever in Education.
Recently, more than 80,000 city voters cast ballots for two elected school board candidates of their choice. The top two candidates posted the kind of vote totals fit for either a winning mayor or winning president of the Board of Alderman. I call on all elected officials in the City of St. Louis to stand up against voter suppression and demand that the will of the voters be done. We must restore the St. Louis Elected School Board now.
 The top two candidates posted the kind of vote totals fit for either a winning mayor or winning president of the Board of Alderman. I call on all elected officials in the City of St. Louis to stand up against voter suppression and demand that the will of the voters be done. We must restore the St. Louis Elected School Board now.
Ray Cummings is vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) St. Louis, Local 420.
