Dear Editor:
All of the noise over renewing a section of the Voting Rights Act is pure demagoguery, simply appealing to the emotions and prejudices of black Americans [“Some officials, scholars say Voting Rights Act needs update,” July 13].
For more than 40 years this scare tactic has been used by politicians in Washington. The truth is the president will renew the act, as every president has, and both parties know it. But the debate has become a way for white Democrats and white Republicans to keep black Democrats on the plantation.
If black Democrats truly want to make their vote count, they should stop trying to keep black Republicans from being elected in the black community. The Voting Rights Act was not passed so that blacks could live under a one-party system.
When will we wake up and realize that the only way to make effective use of our franchise is to make politicians and their parties compete for our vote? That’s what the real fight should be about.
Sincerely,
Lee Walker ([email protected])
President
The New Coalition for Economic and Social Change
Lee H. Walker was president of The New Coalition for Economic and Social Change and a senior fellow of The Heartland Institute. He was chairman of the Illinois State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
