These materials are provided for participants' review and reflection, as part of the LWVDE 2023 Black History Month program.
Topic For Week 1, Feb 1 – Feb 7: Voting Rights
Poem for Week 1:
(This is a repeat from last year. Why mess with a winner?)
Women’s voting rights at one hundred (but who’s counting?)
by Evie Shockley
"eenie meenie minie moe
catch a voter by her toe
if she hollers then you know
got yourself a real jane crow..."
<etc.>
Please follow this link to experience the full poem with its proper formatting.
Week 1 Materials...
Articles:
African American women, though often overlooked in the history of woman suffrage, engaged in significant reform efforts and political activism leading to and following the ratification in 1920 of the Nineteenth Amendment, which barred states from denying American women the right to vote on the basis of their sex. By
Sharon Harley, April, 2019
Book:
Hundreds of images from black history have long been buried in
The New York Times archives. None of them were published by
The Times — until now.
UNSEEN uncovers these never-before published photographs and tells the stories behind them.
By Darcy Eveleigh, Dana Canedy, Damien Cave and Rachel L. Swarns October 17, 2017
Music:
A powerful voting rights anthem feat. Billie Jean King, Carla Hall, Billy Porter, Hill Harper, Ebony Jo-Ann, Christopher Jackson & Ryan Jamaal Swain!
Documentary Films:
After the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, women of color were often kept from the polls through a variety of tactics. They faced racial and ethnic discrimination and were often discouraged from voting via violence.
Radio Podcast:
(Repeat from last year.) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was born from the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s, but in recent years the Supreme Court has effectively nullified its key provisions. We explore why the law was first passed and what it means for voters of color now that its powers have been gutted.
Ted Talks:
◈ 1. From Suffrage to Suppression
Andrea Walker Cummings reminds us that in the face of opposition, we all need to stay woke. Andrea is the Curator of the African American Visual Artists Guild (AAVAG) and while completing an art project discovered the great lengths women and minorities had to go through after the right to vote passed.
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY examines the issue of voter suppression in the US. The film interweaves personal experiences with activism and historical insight to expose a problem that has corrupted our country from the beginning. With the expertise of Stacey Abrams, the film offers an insider’s look into the barriers to voting.
Don't forget to use the questions below to guide your learning this week.
Prompt Questions:
1. Reflect on what you know about human and civil rights history in our Nation while holding the topic area for this week in mind (Voting Rights, Education, Health, Education).
• What did you learn that you did not know prior to participating in this Black History Month learning experience?
• Have our policies in these topic areas remained the same, experienced progress or set-backs?
• What should be done to promote further progress?
2. As you consider this week’s topic, we invite you to hold the ideals of civic and social responsibilities as you engage with the materials.
• How should what you have learned inform the policy efforts we are engaged in at the League of Women Voters?
• What additional issues within these topics should the League be focused?
3. If we believe that we are responsible for one another –
• What societal structures need to be addressed to meet these responsibilities so that we achieve human equality, inclusiveness, and justice for all?
• In what ways are each of these topic areas important to achieving free and healthy communities?
If you have any questions, please contact us at lwvdelaware2019 [at] gmail.com.
End of Month Discussion...
Don't forget to register for the culminating online discussion on February 28th, 2023 to share our experience, thoughts, insights and questions. Register here: Debriefing Conversation for Black History Month Program
