Black women put themselves on the line for everyone's rights. Again.
Georgia, on my mind and in the headlines. Again. Georgia Representative Park Cannon, a Black woman, was arrested on Thursday, March 25, after knocking on the governor's office door during a press conference. Behind closed doors, Kemp was preparing to sign Senate Bill 202 to overhaul elections in the state. Cannon wanted to watch Gov. Brian Kemp sign the bill, a silent protest against the many voter suppression tactics in the bill.
The video of Cannon getting arrested is hard to watch and harkens back to the Civil Rights movement: Black folks peacefully protesting, only to be shut down by a white supremacist system designed to oppress and silence them. It's history on repeat.
The new law imposing voter ID requirements, limits drop boxes, and allows state takeovers of local elections. It creates obstacles for voting, especially on absentee ballots and in runoffs. Absentee voters will be required to submit driver's license numbers or other documentation under a new process for checking their identity, replacing signature matching processes. Over 200,000 Georgia voters lack a driver's license or state ID number. In addition, there will be as little as one week of early voting before runoffs, down from the current three-week early voting period. The bill calls for runoffs to be held four weeks after general elections, leaving little time for early voting.
Read between the lines.
The new law will suppress the Black vote. And Cannon showed up for the fight, just like so many Black women before her. She knew what was on the line for Georgia. Cannon tweeted:
"I am not the first Georgian to be arrested for fighting voter suppression. I'd love to say I'm the last, but we know that isn't true."
Like Stacey Abrams, Tamieka Atkins, LaTosha Brown, Helen Butler, Melanie L. Campbell, Deborah Scott, Nsé Ufot and so many more, we owe Cannon not only our thanks but our action. My ask to everyone:
- Show up for Black women
- Stand up for Black women
- Vote for Black women
Stand up for Black women the way they have - and continue to - tirelessly fight for everyone's rights. Our rights and access to voting will continue to erode if we don't collectively stand against suppression.