The 2014 Elections: What’s at Stake for African Americans

The 2014 elections are almost here, and the focus is whether the Republicans can gain control of the U.S. Senate, a first since 2006.

Thirty-six seats are being contested, and Republicans need only six gains to win a majority.

The stakes are extraordinarily high for the nation. But for African Americans in particular, the outcome of the midterm elections next month may not only be a game changer, but also a game ender.

First off, Republicans consistently oppose civil rights legislation. A GOP majority in the Senate would also likely put in jeopardy measures that help moderate and low-income Americans, including one essential initiative: an increase in the national minimum wage.

Click here to read the rest of this New Pittsburgh Courier article.

DNC Ad Uses President Obama to Rally Black Voters

President Obama is featured in a new ad for the Democratic National Committee, the first in a $1 million campaign to turn out young, minority and female voters in the midterm elections.

The radio ad titled “Obstruction” released Monday laments the opposition Obama has faced from congressional Republicans. It is aimed at black voters and will run on African American radio stations nationwide.

“No Democratic President in U.S history has faced the level of obstruction from the Republicans that Barack Obama has. It’s critical that we continue to fight for change and vote on Nov. 4,” the narrator says.

Obama then outlines his vision for an economy where “hard work pays off.” The radio spot features excerpts from a speech, where the president touts higher wages, affordable health insurance and decent health benefits.

Read full article on TheHill.

OURstory: 15th Amendment

On this date in 1870 the 15th amendment was ratified. Republicans wanted the 15th Amendment passed to obtain the vote of the freed slaves.

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Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

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The 15th Amendment ensures the right to vote to all male citizens of the United States, regardless of color or previous condition of servitude. The 15th Amendment opened the door for the elections of African Americans to the US Congress and to Southern local and state offices.

Many women suffragists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had worked alongside Black suffragists like Frederick Douglass to gain suffrage for both groups. But when the 15th Amendment passed, it angered many women suffragists terribly, and some of them even spoke out against Black suffrage.

Related articles

• OURStory: Black Statue of Liberty
• National Urban League: Voting is No. 1 issue for African Americans

Can Mitt Romney Win Presidency With Zero Support From Black Community?

Mitt Romney has a difficult time getting votes from women and Hispanics ... but, his problems getting voting support from the Black community hit an all-time low based on NBC/WSJ poll showing that ZERO PERCENT of the Black electorate [SOURCE]

NBC News breaks down the polls as follows:

- Obama continues to lead Romney among key parts of his political base, including African Americans (94 percent to 0 percent), Latinos (by a 2-to-1 margin), voters under 35-years-old (52 percent to 41 percent) and women (51 percent to 41 percent).

- Romney is ahead with whites (53 percent to 40 percent), rural voters (47 percent to 38 percent) and seniors (49 percent to 41 percent).

- And the two presidential candidates are essentially even when it comes to the swing groups of suburban voters, Midwest residents and political independents.

It appears that folks like Artur Davis, Clarence Thomas, Allen West and Cornel West and their ilk are statistical insignificant in current polls.

Early Voting for November 2011 Elections in Ohio

I encourage all villagers to remember that our ancestors worked hard to ensure that we have the right to vote.  It is up to us to be informed about the issues and it is up to us to VOTE.   We are going to try to ramp up the Proud Black Voter blog.   In the meantime, this blog will share voting updates that impact on my fellow villagers in the state of Ohio.

For example, did you know that 'early voting' for the November 2011 election is up and running in Ohio?

Registered voters may download, fill out, print AND sign an absentee ballot application here (En Español). Applications should be mailed or dropped off at your local board of elections. Do not delay returning your application. By requesting your absentee ballot early, you will help avoid problems that may make it difficult to quickly and easily obtain an absentee ballot.

Not registered to vote? There’s still time! Get your voter registration form here. Remember, you must mail or hand-deliver the registration form to your county board of elections by October 11.

Get more information to protect your vote at http://www.acluohio.org/vote.

Raise Your Vote: Yes We Can!

We are 48 hours away from the November 2 elections. Each and every person who is reading this blog post needs to make a personal commitment to do two things:

1. Vote!
2. Get those in your sphere of influence to VOTE!

That's it. That's all there is to it. Either you are in favor of seeing our president succeed OR you are rallying with those who want to see him destroyed.

I choose to believe that Proud Black Voters like you and me can make the difference. As we told ourselves two years ago -- YES WE CAN!





What say u?

OURstory: Ballot Box

The Ohio Historical Society is loaning a ballot box from the post-Civil War era to the America I AM exhibit when it comes to Cincinnati Museum Center on June 19.

All proud Black voters know that the 13th Amendment ended the system of slavery in America, while the 14th Amendment granted citizenship and the rights that came with it to African Americans. The 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote. These three (3) admendments to the US Constitution had a deep impact on our society.

After the 15th Amendment was ratified, African Americans sent 17 Black representatives to Washington – 15 to Congress and two to the U.S. Senate -- in a remarkable period of American history known as 'Reconstruction'.

I share this information in the hopes it will remind us 21st century citizens that freedom is never free. Many of our ancestors went through quite alot to get us the right to vote. Let's not take it for granted!

The Great Black Vote

Villagers, this is one of the most important national elections of our lifetime. Don't miss it. Please ensure that you are registered to vote!

Eight Million African Americans Still Not Registered to Vote

by Hazel Trice Edney
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

Despite record numbers of voters who turned out during the presidential primaries last spring, eight million African Americans are still not registered to vote.

This according to Rick Wade, African American vote director for the Obama for America presidential campaign.

“Our principle focus has been a 50-state voter registration initiative. I think we all appreciate that if we increase the number of African American registered voters and then increase turnout and get people to the polls on Nov. 4, then Sen. Obama will be the next president of the United States,” Wade says.

Wade explains that the eight million unregistered Black voters accounts for 32 percent of eligible Black voting population nationwide.

Read the rest of this article here.

Barack Obama Video * 'Yes We Can'

How many of the celebrities in this video can you name? More importantly, are you registered to vote yet?

Afrosphere Encourages Black Voter Participation

The 2008 presidential election is a seminal historical point in determining the direction of the United States. Our country's leaders must deal with issues of health care, economics, foreign policy, immigration and others that directly affect every American’s life. The difference in 2008 is that we have two viable candidates for a major party presidential nomination who are not white males.

It is important that all Americans who are eligible to vote do so this year. Many of the issues on the national agenda have a disproportionate effect on the Black community. Yet, past voter turnout by eligible Blacks continues to lag behind.

With those factors in mind, the Afrosphere Action Coalition has initiated a 'Proud Black Voter' movement to encourage people of African descent to vote in 2008. The 'Proud Black Voter' blog hopes to:

• inform the public about the importance of the need to vote
• facilitate people in getting registered
• encourage greater voter registration and election participation within the Black community

Music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs stressed the importance of voting in America when he said, "People have died to have that right. When the president is running your country, he is running you". Political commentator Armstrong Williams echoes that sentiment regarding Black people in specific saying, "we must go to the poll and pull that lever, not just for you, but what it has taken for you to be here".

LaTonya Johnson (aka Mrs. Grapevine) started the discussions leading to creation of this Proud Black Voter blog. She wrote, "I am an avid voter…hopefully we can get Black people moving so that we can vote in the Presidential Election in record numbers."

Wayne Hicks (aka Villager) is participating in the Proud Black Voter blog because he sees it as "...a tangible way to use the growing influence of Black bloggers to influence the actions of our readers for the greater good. It is a way to use cyberspace to uplift people of African descent by pointing out ways for them to get registered and vote no mater where they live ... or who they want to support."

The Afrosphere Action Coalition asks all blogs and websites operated by people of African descent to participate by prominently displaying one of the six Proud Black Voter buttons on their blog or website. The HTML widget reads 'Proud Black Voter...Join Me Now, Register to Vote' and can be placed on anyone's blog or webpage with a link back to the Proud Black Voter blog to obtain information on voter registration, voter rights, and other voting issues.

This is a nonpartisan effort to increase participation in the political process. If you have questions or wish to discuss further you can reach out to any member of the Afrosphere Action Coalition, including LaTonya Johnson (info@mrsgrapevine.com), Yobachi Boswell (615.478-5204) or Wayne Hicks (513.362-2703).