S.E. Williams
Many students of history, civil rights activists, social justice advocates, criminal justice reformers and human rights proponents may recall that the 1963 March on Washington was not the first time civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. gathered supports at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
In his unrelenting quest to lead this county closer to what the American religious philosopher Josiah Royce called the “beloved community,” King and other civil rights leaders and supporters actually gathered at the Lincoln Memorial before the famed 1963 march.
Nearly six years earlier, on May 17, 1957, King joined civil rights giants of that era including Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, Stanley Levison, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Fred Shuttlesworth, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and entertainer Harry Belafonte in a pilgrimage to the nation’s capitol and stood before the Lincoln Memorial. Their goal, to push for full enactment of Brown v Board of Education that continued to meet resistance across the south and in other places in the nation.
King, the last to speak that day, noted the ongoing “interposition” and “nullification” impeding progress of the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v Board of Education to desegregate the nation’s public schools. This gathering highlighted a crude, corrupt and devastating reality—that although the Supreme Court made its ruling in favor of desegregation the racists in this nation resisted any calls for change. This ruling disrupted another vestige of the old south that was previously sanctioned nationally by Plessy v. Ferguson or the concept of “separate but equal” as it relates to public education.
Only about 20,000 people attended the gathering at the Lincoln Memorial in May 1957, far from the 250,000 who would join the historic March on Washington in 1963. But, those who did. . . got the message. King educated those in attendance that even though the highest court had ruled in favor of desegregation in Brown v Board of Education, the ruling had basically stalled. It was being undermined, resisted, sabotaged and ignored by elected officials in various states and municipalities, particularly in the south. Without the ability to leverage their votes, Black people would never be able to elect officials who truly represent their needs and concerns.
States That Have Enacted Restrictive Voting Laws, 2021-2024
Source: Brennan Center analysis of publicly available data.
For King, the way forward was crystal clear. “Give us the ballot,” he implored, “and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights.”
King understood the destiny of Black people in the country in every aspect of our lives from health care to housing; from employment opportunities to fair wages; from toxic environments to the quest for clean air; from quality pre K-12 education; and from college access to college tuition; from superior court judges to supreme court justices—basically everything in our lives from cradle to grave–-is in some way impacted by those we elect to serve us.
Without fair access to the ballot there is a growing danger that our right to the franchise will continue to erode at an accelerated pace. Just consider what has happened since the Supreme Court ruling in the Shelby County v. Holder case in 2013, when the Court destroyed the pre-clearance (Section 5) of the Voting Rights Act. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, between the ruling in 2013 and 2024, at least 30 states enacted 78 restrictive laws; at least 15 states passed 33 election interference laws; and at least 41 states plus Washington, DC, have enacted 168 expansive laws.
“[A]ll types of conniving methods are still being used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters. The denial of this sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition. And so our most urgent request to the president of the United States and every member of Congress is to give us the right to vote.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Certainly the rules are changing as we go. Voting rights are being attacked in new and creative ways whether its voter ID laws or closing polling places, restricting hours, or the recent green light given by the Supreme Court to gerrymandering. And just because we live in a state led by Democrats does not mean we don’t have work to do when it comes to voting. California is the world’s fourth largest economy but is tied with Louisiana for having the nation’s highest rate of poverty. And in 2024, California was among the nation’s leaders in homelessness.
The shamefully deceptive false narratives that fueled concerns over non-existent election fraud in 2020 was carefully crafted. These narratives, on the heels of two terms by the nation’s first Black president, led to the explosion of legislation noted above that will make it harder for people to vote this year—especially Black folks.
Yes. We in the Black community are angry that at least a third of the people in the country are stuck in a mindset that they would rather see the country on its knees than to see Black people progress. However, we accept this challenge with gratitude because we know the ancestors have prepared us for a time such as this. In 1957, standing before the Lincoln Memorial, King reminded us, “Never despair; never give up; never feel that the cause of righteousness and justice is doomed. . . “[T]he universe is on our side in the struggle,” he assured. He encouraged attendees to “Stand up for justice” and highlighted how important it is that we do so with dignity, honor and respectability.
King ended his speech that day 69 years ago, encouraging those in attendance that if we just keep moving forward the history books will one day reflect a powerful truth: “There lived a great people. A people with ‘fleecy locks and Black complexion,’ but a people who injected new meaning into the veins of civilization; a people which stood up with dignity and honor and saved Western civilization in her darkest hour. . .” We are the morale compass of this nation and we have work to do.
Of course, this is just my opinion (I agree with King). I’m keeping it real.