Jesse Jackson is organizing a Civil Rights style march in Atlanta on Saturday to urge Congress to re-authorize key sections of the Voting Rights Act. Attorney General Roberto Gonzales has said that the White House support renewal of certain sections of the Act but has not been specific on which sections.
One of the sections up for renewal is the pre-clearance clause of Section 5. This section requires mostly southern states to get pre-approval from Congress before changing voting times, places, or methods. The state officials must prove to the federal government that any suggested changes were not motivated to harm minorities. Federal poll watchers are also required to be on site.
The State Of . . . The Voting Rights Act is in jeopardy. However, is a march the way to address the situation? Jackson’s purpose is to raise awareness among African-Americans that the Voting Rights Act is up for renewal and so that they will alert their representative accordingly. Unfortunately, such causes do not have lobbyists on Capital Hill currying favor with lawmakers. Jackson’s march is a actually a low budget way of getting the ear of a legislator. Isn’t it about time African-Americans have high priced lobbyists looking into our interests? I know it shouldn’t be necessary, but this is how things get done in Washington these days.
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