Inaction on voting rights has cast a cloud of gloom on the day that otherwise would be a celebratory occasion.
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday supporters of MLK have a new message, but the same goal. The message is, "No Celebration Without Legislation." The goal is, "Give us the ballot." In the first year of the Biden Administration, the Supreme Court dealt an almost fatal blow to voting rights that can only be absolved by the U.S. Congress. As of today, voting rights legislation on two key measures involving securing and protecting the sacred right to vote, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act are still idling in the Senate.
Many politicians will quote Mr. King today, appearing to embrace his legacy, but the son of the slain leader said that celebrating the holiday without seeking legislation dishonors his legacy.
It was over 50 years ago when the Civil Rights icon was assassinated for fighting to make the world a fair and free place for all. His work was not in vain. His leadership during the Civil Rights Movement was instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that gained the right to vote for all Americans-- not just Black Americans. Voting is a cornerstone of democracy, yet today the right to vote in a free and fair election without restrictive rules is being smothered by partisan politics. Lawmakers in at least 19 states passed 34 laws that make it more difficult to vote for Black Americans and other people of color to vote (Brennan).
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. SPEAKS ON VOTING RIGHTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA
In seeking justice, Rev. King also sought truth. The truth in this hour seems to be that the GOP could deny access to the ballot nationally, bringing death to fairness at the ballot box. The entire Senate Republican chamber has refused to reason with Democrats and Pres. Joe Biden on a path forward to securing voting rights for the future.
Martin Luther King, II his oldest son said that honoring the blood his father and others shed would
The family of Dr. King along with voting advocacy groups have decried the performative actions of Americans who celebrate the national MLK holiday but have not taken the necessary actions to help permanently secure voting rights is as useless as silence.
Dr. King once said, "Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights. Give us the ballot, and we will no longer plead to the federal government for passage of an anti-lynching law. We will by the power of our vote write the law on the statute books of the South and bring an end to the dastardly acts of the hooded perpetrators of violence."
In order to respect Dr. King's legacy, his supporters believe it is useless to have "celebration without legislation." They are calling for an end to lip service around voting bills getting passed and asking for action as a sign of true honor to Dr. King's sacrifice.
Dr. King knew that access to the ballot would be socio-politically transformational. In a speech in South Carolina in May of 1957 he stated, "So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote, I do not possess myself," King Jr. said in his "Give Us the Ballot" speech in May 1957. "I cannot make up my mind -- it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact -- I can only submit to the edict of others."
In a speech on voting on 1954 King was addressing South Carolinians, reminding them that they have power to send the right people to Washington to represent them in Washington as they sent some of the first Black leader sin American history to the South Carolina State House. Some argue that the lone Republican Senator, Time Scott from the Palmetto state, should join Democrats in pushing for the voting laws to be signed.
Recently, the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to have his chamber change the rules to get voting rights legislation passed by MLK Day. The nation is still awaiting the outcome.