African Americans in particular and people of color in general have a history of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against their interest. When the Plessy vs Ferguson decision was handed down in 1896, the Court said “separate but equal ” was the rule. We endured the “Jim Crow” era that followed. When the Court said in the Dred Scott decision that “ A Black man has no rights that a White man is bound to respect, we survived the indignity of being called everything except “Mister”. But as Maya Angelo said: “And still we rise.” We have experienced the works of racist white Justices before. Today, we are better educated and equipped than we have ever been with a better knowledge of our options and alternatives. The only question is: Do we have the collective will to fight back?
Consider that while the current Supreme Court has acted and has an embedded conservative majority for years to come, the Constitution does give us a way out of all the decisions handed down that are against our interest.
Years ago when the Court ruled against flag burning, the Congress passed a law which said while such activity was offensive to many, there existed a First Amendment right under Freedom of Speech to burn the flag if one decided to do so. Today, just as the President is proposing legislation to overcome Student Loan Forgiveness, and the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the Congress can legislate the reversal of these Supreme Court decisions.
The problem is that we the people must vote out the right-leaning Conservative Members of Congress for people who support our points of view and will vote to make the desired legislative changes. We must support Congressional candidates who will commit to and support our goals. We must finance them as well as assure that our people are registered to vote in such extreme numbers that we overcome the opposition.
We must remember that there are more people in America that share our views among young whites and people of color than the conservative element that is solidly committed to returning Donald Trump to the White House.
Most of the Republicans running against Trump appear to be afraid to speak out against him. Let us not forget that the very basis of much of the overwhelming support for Trump is racism. The racism is based in a fear that America is changing to whites becoming a minority rather than the majority they have always enjoyed. While yet if we and our allies register to vote and march to the polls, then we have a winning ticket in the American electoral lottery.
We must then use that collective vote for people who support our cause, no matter their race. We can not engage in reverse racism, but rather aligning ourselves who have a shared interest in the myriad challenges facing the nation. If the vote was important enough to use every tactic of voter suppression to deny our voice, then it’s important enough for us to fight for.
Let us remember that our fight is for the collective benefit of all in this diverse nation.
The struggle really does continue. Will you join and become a part of it?
John E. Warren is publisher of the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint.
