Throughout history, women have been forgotten, taken for granted, and seen as objects to be used rather than humans with opinions to be heard. Now, with the election just a few days ahead, it is important to recognize that it will be the female vote that will evolve our country.
Dr. Venus walks it back slowly this week to provide resources and a timeline on how Black Men got the chance to vote before White Women. She then discusses the importance of Democracy, and why Black Men supporting Trump falls in line with voting in the name of individualism rather than for the good of the collective. In this political climate, everyone has skin in the game, something to lose, and each side can affect the other drastically. It's our job to make the right decisions for our happiness.
Key Takeaways:
[2:05] In 1870, Black Men received the right to vote, but it is important to note that they received this right based on gender. It was not until the 19th Amendment that women received the right to vote. White Men gave Black Men the right to vote, but it was still indoctrinated in the system of White Supremacy, rooted in the patriarchal ideas that men are smarter and know better than women.
[4:05] It looked as though Black Men were included in the right to vote fully, but there were many structures that kept them from doing so, such as taxes, literacy tests, and lynchings.
[7:06] When Black Men support Trump, Dr. Venus believes they are identifying with his fundamental beliefs of looking out for yourself, doing what suits you best, and treating women as second class citizens. There is a riff in the Black community that is gender-based and rooted in feeding the beast of White Supremacy and White Masculinity.
[15:39] No matter who you vote for, it is important that you educate yourself on why you are voting for them, and how they align with your values.
[23:42] This current political climate has turned many people against each other, where true Democracy is letting each other have different opinions and exercising the right to vote based on how a candidate matches up with your values and priorities. We don’t have to agree with what others are saying, but it’s important that everyone has a voice.
[33:31] Patriarchy and bigotry are still very alive these days, but that does not discredit the power of our voice. We can choose to vote and exercise our right to Democracy from a place of power rather than reaction.
Quotes:
- “You have to look at the values of the people you are aligning with. That includes your candidate.”
- “As women of all races, we identify with other women. If my sister hurts whether I have money or not and she is in need of welfare, we identify as though that could be us.”
- “I have a high value of women of all races having control over their body.”
- “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” — Voltaire
- “If you want your children to thrive and understand that their voice matters, you have to act it out first.”
Mentioned:
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The Black Woman Millionaire Hot Mess Edition
- Register to Vote Online
- *****VOTING RIGHTS BY STATE: For Convicted Felons
RESOURCES
- When Did African Americans Actually Get The Right To Vote
- The 19th Amendment didn’t give women the right to vote Its language — and effects — were much narrower.
- Suffrage in America: The 15th and 19th Amendments
- 'It's a Struggle They Will Wage Alone.' How Black Women Won the Right to Vote
- The gender gap in black views on Trump, explained 24 percent of black men approve of Trump. Just 6 percent of black women do. Why?
IMPORTANT DATES
In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States. Citizenship gives people privileges, immunities, equal protection, and due process of law in theory but not in practice. https://www.nps.gov/articles/whose-voice-is-heard.htm
The Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 said that the government cannot keep a citizen from voting based on his "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". The purpose of this amendment was to enfranchise African American men but it was undermined with death threats, Black Codes, and other forms of terror to deter voting. https://www.nps.gov/articles/whose-voice-is-heard.htm
It was not until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment forbid the denial of voting rights on the basis of sex, that women had the right to vote but there were loopholes around enforcing this amendment. The same tactics used on Black Men. https://www.nps.gov/articles/whose-voice-is-heard.htm
Activism for women’s voting rights did not end in 1920, and the advocacy of women of color like Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash helped lead to perhaps the biggest voting rights victory of all, the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
