In the late '90s, the Internet belched forth a rumor that the Voting Rights Act was soon to expire and that black folks would lose the vote as a result. There is a sustained effort to suppress the black vote as we approach this pivotal election. Lewis, of course, is the man whose skull was cracked in 1965 on a bridge in Alabama in the fight for black voting rights. In Washington, conservative Republicans are seeking to gut the Voting Rights Act. In Florida, they are, in effect, purging Democrats from the voting rolls. In Kansas, there is a law requiring a voter to show proof of citizenship. [...] in 30 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are voter ID laws, either passed or under contemplation. In a speech last week before the NAACP, Attorney General Eric Holder likened voter ID laws to the poll taxes of yesteryear. Given the phenomenon of mass incarceration - i.e., a criminal injustice system that will bypass 10 white cocaine dealers to jail one black guy dealing crack - disenfranchising former felons largely means disenfranchising us. In a speech to a Republican State Committee meeting, he praised, "voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania..."
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