They Died for Our Right to Vote. We Must Keep Their Sacrifice Alive.
By Marvin Dixon | VMGReview.com
Some people paid for our right to vote with their lives. We must never allow their sacrifice to become a forgotten chapter in a history book.
This is why I continue to write about voting. Our children and grandchildren need to understand that the opportunity to walk into a polling place and cast a ballot came through struggle, courage, and sacrifice.
People marched. People were beaten. People lost their jobs and faced threats against their families. Others never made it home.
Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young Black voting-rights activist, died after being shot by an Alabama state trooper in 1965. His death helped inspire the Selma-to-Montgomery voting-rights marches. On Bloody Sunday, peaceful marchers were violently attacked as they demanded access to the ballot. These were real people risking their lives for a right that many of us can exercise today.
Their sacrifice deserves our remembrance—and our participation.
Why Would Anyone Want to Keep Us From Voting?
Voting gives ordinary people a voice in deciding who holds power and how that power is used. When citizens organize, become informed, and participate, elected officials must answer to them.
History shows what happens when those in power try to silence that voice. Literacy tests, intimidation, and discriminatory practices kept generations of Black Americans from exercising their voting rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to confront those barriers.
We must remain alert whenever someone attempts to discourage eligible citizens from voting, intimidate them, or place unfair obstacles in their path. Every eligible citizen deserves a fair opportunity to participate.
When someone wants us to stay home, we should ask: Who benefits from our silence?
Teach the Next Generation What Is at Stake
We cannot assume that young people understand this history simply because they have heard about the Civil Rights Movement.
Parents, grandparents, teachers, churches, and community leaders have a responsibility to connect that history to everyday life. Voting helps determine who makes decisions about our schools, public safety, healthcare, taxes, and community services.
Invite a young person into the conversation. Explain how elections work. Encourage them to research candidates, ask questions, and understand the responsibilities of each office.
Teach them that citizenship requires attention throughout the year, including after an election.
Honor the Sacrifice With Action
Check your voter registration through your official election office. Learn the requirements and deadlines. Make a plan to vote, and help someone else find reliable information.
Vote in local elections as well as state and national elections. Continue asking questions and holding elected officials accountable after the ballots are counted.
People died demanding that our voices be heard. We honor them by using those voices—and protecting the right of others to do the same.
The struggle for voting rights belongs in our history lessons. The responsibility to defend those rights belongs to all of us today.
Read. Share. Join the conversation. What are you doing to help the next generation understand the importance of voting?
Marvin Dixon/Founder
vmgreview.com
