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Sheila B (MN)'s avatar

My father was a supply officer in the Army in WWII. While stationed in England, his unit was a group of black men. My dad was raised in a small town in Northern Minnesota. A first generation American, he was taught that all men are created equal. Though his fellow officers shunned him, my dad carried out his duties and made certain the men under his command did their jobs and did them well.

While filling a requisition, my dad was informed that certain supplies were missing. Dad informed his commanding officer. Two days later, one of the black men in my dad’s unit Willam, was arrested for the crime.

My dad defended his unit vociferously enough that he was also thrown in the brig and had his rank busted back to private (he was a captain). He spent several weeks awaiting his court marshall. Meanwhile, more supplies went missing - of course.

At a party one weekend, another officer overheard a certain lieutenant bragging about how great it was to have “gifts” for his new mistress. The lieutenant was turned in, he confessed, and my dad and Willam were released and my dad’s rank was restored. But dad became much more vocal that the men in his unit were also Americans and deserved to be treated with respect. As you’d expect, that did not go over well.

I was born in 1954 - Brown vs the Board of Education. In 1964, after the Civil Rights act was passed, my parents broke out the champagne. I don’t remember a time when equal rights and voting rights weren’t front and center in Sunday after-dinner discussions nor a time that my parents didn’t use “current” events to start discussions about important policy issues like civil rights, women’s rights, and in our house, protecting the environment (mom was a science and math teacher). Fast forward 60 years and here we are- in the midst of furious efforts to restrict voting and control who wins national elections. Unbelievable as it seems, we are back to having to work our collective butts off to ensure that voting rights are secure and no one has the power to summarily overturn the will of the people.

So today, I will gather with other activists to discuss what actions are needed and where we can apply pressure. Tomorrow, I will be gathering donated kids clothing for children in the White Earth Indian reservation. Like many Indigenous nations, White Earth was hammered by COVID. Kids lost parents, grandparents and guardians, and too many people lost jobs. Since school is coming up, my neighbor, who grew up on White Earth, asked for help for her family and friends. It isn’t much but we hope that providing clothing, back packs with school supplies and a few fun things like new knitted and crocheted hats, mittens and blankets will help.

It helps me to do something- anything that I am able to do. Otherwise, anger and anxiety take over. I am represented, at every level of government, by Democrats. But I haver never felt less secure.

Passing the For The People Act and the Hohn Lewis voting rights act is critical. What more can we do to make this happen?

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Mike S's avatar

Today's summary of the entire history of voter rights, in the context of today's events, is precisely why I joined here and remain an enthusiastic member of HCR's "Letters" digital publication.

Thank you. I have sent it to everyone I know, independent of their interest in history.

I learned none, zero, of the contents of today's history lesson in my formal education process.

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