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The More We Vote, The More We Make Black History
By Branden Stokes
Posted: 2021-02-05T19:58:00Z

The More We Vote, The More We Make Black History

By

Branden Stokes

Black History Month is a time the entire world celebrates historical black civic leaders, inventors, artists, etc. Black History Month was created from historian Carter G. Woodson's declaration of the second week of February as “Negro History Week".  Woodson’s declaration inspired black students and educators at Kent State University to celebrate the first-ever black history month. As a result of this bold act on this college campus, many black people in the world now celebrate this declarative month with pride.

Even with this sense of pride, as a millennial today, I would be remiss in not expressing my disappointment in having only one month to celebrate black people. One month is not enough to appease a community that has been marginalized for 246 years through fear, violence, and harmful legislative tactics passed by the United States government.

Black history month is a month recognized nationally by many who are not black to appease black people from being angry with their living conditions. Black people are still fighting economic injustices that are inflicted upon them by the very people sworn into Congress to protect and serve the American people. This month is a celebration and a reminder of the pain endured by black people in the past to accomplish great things in America. Martin Luther King Jr called out this hypocrisy in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. In this letter, he appealed to the white-moderate class. This appeal was to show them the dangers of incremental change and today we are still pleading with white moderates about the harmful effects of incremental change.

Over the past couple of months, police brutality among black communities has risen at an astronomically high rate. During the Jim Crow era, there was a racist precedent set forth by southern local police departments that controlled the way of life for black southern people. This precedent, while it may not be blatant today, is still alive and thriving in our criminal justice and legislative system. As a 25-year-old black man, this makes me wonder if being black in America is a blessing or curse? One month cannot erase the fact that we still deal with systemic racism today.

Systemic racism can be abolished by the very hands of the people who unconsciously participate in it today within our most sacred governmental institutions. This can only happen if we make it our mission and goal to stand together in unity, wielding the political power that we all have, which is our vote. We must prepare the younger generation to continue to fight the good fight. As a young 25-year-old black man living in Cobb County, Georgia, I was able to see black and white people in large numbers help save democracy by getting Reverend Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden elected to office. Not only did we make history, but we also set a precedent for other black voters; “Where there is a vote, there is a way”.

Branden Stokes is Director of Youth Engagement & Social Media for the Cobb County Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference [SCLC] and the Vice President of the Young Democrats of Cobb County.


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