Not our first rodeo: voting rights
As is frequently the case, I choose a book from the library for one thing and find that the message for me is extraordinarily contemporary and important. Thus, my interest in Creole New Orleans presented the following:
From R. L. Desdunes, 1895 in the Crusader, " "This question of qualified suffrage is one in which all the comon people, whether colored, or white, are vitally interested." He rued the day "when once the wealthy classes get the laws as them want them. The elect of creation as they believe themselves to be, aim to kill the right [of universal suffrage] a short cut to assured and permanent ascendancy."
p. 258, Arnold R. Hirsch in Creole New Orleans edited by Arnold R. Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon.
Quoting George Labat in 1929, "Without the ballot our race will always be...segregated and deprived of our rights and privileges" (such twentieth-century innovations) "were enacted solely to disfranchise our race and to eliminate us from politics." p. 268 of the same anthology.
As Buffy Ste. Marie said later, "round and round and round in the circle game."
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.