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It was the 1960s, and after decades following the abolishment of slavery, African Americans were still vying for simple fundamental human rights including the most basic form of involvement in society – voting.  Routinely disenfranchised from the process via underhanded tactics such as literacy tests, and more blatant intimidation methods like outright murder and violence, the Black community found itself intricately excluded from actively participating in any discourse that may have altered their lives for the better.  Following the murder of voting-rights activists in places like Mississippi and Alabama, the President and Congress finally passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that aimed to ensure equality in our election process.  Though we may not be physically attacked at voting stations or forced to pay fees at the ballot box, people of color are once again being excluded from the process in much more underhanded and disturbing ways.  And the campaign to end ACORN is the clearest, prime example before our eyes. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known by its acronym ACORN, was established in 1970 and through the years has worked diligently to register individuals from disenfranchised neighborhoods, help construct schools, find affordable housing for the poor and more. It is in fact the largest membership organization of low and medium income people, and it has itself employed more than 13,000 registration assistance workers throughout the country.  Its housing corporation has assisted over 50,000 families facing foreclosure, and its tax and benefit centers have helped over 150,000 low-income families receive over $190 million in Earned Income Tax Credits and other refunds.  But perhaps most impressive under ACORN’s extensive accolades has been its ability to register some 1.3 million to vote – and hence help give a voice to those who have been silenced for much too long

It’s hard to imagine that less than a century ago, police sergeants and sheriffs were overseeing the burning of crosses and ensuring the safety of Ku Klux Klansmen in places like Queens, NY and that fifty years ago, people of color were still fighting for the ability to use public bathrooms and drink from water fountains at will.  And today, in 2009, despite having the first African American President in the White House, Blacks and Latinos still suffer from institutional racism, blatantly discriminatory attacks, profiling and disproportionate levels of incarceration.  Despite the plethora of issues we still must surpass, the President has diligently worked to unite the American body and transcend the conversation beyond race.  Unfortunately, his opponents often see nothing but skin color and an opportunity to conjure up age-old sentiments, fears and stereotypes.

For the past several weeks, all we have been inundated with is negativity; a decline in President Obama’s approval ratings, scare tactics, weakening support for health reform and an overall sense of pessimism and frustration with regard to change.  Pundits, critics and the like spent the month of August focusing on town hall uproars and the notion that this President, like many reformists before him, would fail in the battle for health coverage for every American.  But unlike his predecessors, President Obama silently and diligently proceeded despite the vitriol and criticism, and then shut them all down with one historic, bold speech. “I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last,” articulated Obama last Wednesday in front of Congress and the American people.  Answering his critics directly, he passionately dismissed blatant lies like ‘death panels’, but continued to encourage bipartisan input and support.  In an unprecedented move, he outlined a plan in which insurers could no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, or drop people after they become ill.  He addressed concerns from both the right and left, while intricately explaining his marketplace concept, costs for such health care reform and a projected timeframe for change to finally be implemented

Gary Younge It takes considerable skill to convince people that something that is clearly good for them--like universal healthcare--is not. read more

The decision by parents across the country to keep their children home from school today rather than have students listen to the President’s stay in school address follows an ugly pattern that began to emerge in the months since the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Conservative opposition to Obama in elite political and media circles in recent weeks has turned into routine disgruntled post-election partisan bickering to vile anti-American and racist rhetoric