This was a sad day for the United States of America: the Supreme Court, regardless of whatever spin has been placed upon it, has basically killed the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Some will say that it’s about time! That it is outdated, no longer useful, even backwards discriminatory. Some will claim, along with Chief Justice John Roberts, “things have changed dramatically” in the South in the nearly 50 years since it was signed into law. Some people will even point to the election and reelection of President Obama as evidence of all things now being equal. To these people I respectfully reply: The places where the VRA applied overwhelmingly voted against President Obama, so that is not evidence of equality. The places where the VRA applied will no longer be prevented from enacting subtle, discriminatory polices that discourage and even prevent minorities from voting. Both Texas and South Carolina have had Voter ID laws recently blocked or delayed by the VRA, so yes, it does apply today and remains most definitely useful. The places where the VRA applied were the birthplaces of people like Paula Deen. My guess is that she is a nice person who never meant any harm. The fact she had no idea that her words would indeed cause harm is perhaps the most compelling reason that the Voting Rights Act, at this point in time, should not have been ruled unconstitutional. We all know that there are still far too many “Paula Deens” in this country, in addition to the far too many others who are openly racist. So yes, things have changed dramatically, just not dramatically enough. Discrimination, whether overt or covert, is dying slowly, probably never to completely disappear, granted, yet we can still look forward to the day when it will exist only on the extreme margins of society. But that day is still in the future. MLK’s dream is so close to being fully realized; let us all hope this ruling does not set us back.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 02:26:58 +0000
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