voting
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This Election Comes Down to 1 Thing
In one day, most of you will cast a vote for who you want to serve as the next president of the United States. By now you likely have been inundated with articles, commercials and personal appeals to do your part as both a citizen in this democracy and a beneficiary of the people who…
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Show Up on Nov. 9, Too
The first time I ever saw a voting booth, my father carried me on his hip, letting me punch the ballot and wear his “I Voted” sticker home with pride. In every election since my 18th birthday, I have performed some combination of our family’s traditional tasks, supporting registration and participation efforts, educating myself on…
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#WeBuiltThis: Black People Built America, and America Won’t Stop Killing Us
If you’re black, enfranchised and under 35, you’ve probably caught hell from at least a dozen people about your civic duty to vote. (Something about your ancestors bleeding and dying for your right to vote, and how folks your age should be galloping to the polls. It’s like your civic duty to stand for the…
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For Colored Folk Who Have Considered Suicide When This Election Was Too Much
There is not a lot of joy this election season. Everyone knows that we probably won’t live to see another ridiculously upbeat campaign season like 2008, when it was literally “cool” to go out and vote for then-Sen. Barack Obama, but 2016 has been an emotional letdown nonetheless. The choice between Hillary Clinton, with her…
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Hey Y’all, I Think My Mother Is Voting For Donald Trump
First things first, I PJ, would like to state up front that I can talk about my mama, but the rest of you people cannot. Cool? Cool. Also, I am lucky enough to have two mothers: this piece speaks of my mother in Michigan, who is originally from France. And white. And awesome so put…
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That 1 Time Donald Trump Was Right
Are you sitting down? I want to make sure you aren’t standing. I don’t want your knees to buckle or you to hit your head when you faint, because I have never written these words before. In fact, this may be the first time these words have ever been printed on this site: Donald Trump…
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Here Is Why Your Vote Is Not Your Voice
On a recent Sunday, just days after the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by officers sworn to serve and protect them, thousands across the country engaged in public demonstrations to raise awareness of police brutality, racial profiling and institutional racism. I participated in one of those demonstrations in Oklahoma City. It was a…
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Sample Literacy Test: Would You Have Been Able To Vote?
The movie Selma is coming to theaters in a few months and the cracker jack marketing team behind the movie decided to drop the bomb on the masses early. As part of the promo for the movie, they crafted a literacy test, complete wtih questions that were used to bar some Black folks from voting in…