As the midterms approach, I’ve been thinking a lot about Robert Mallard, who was lynched in Georgia 70 years ago this year for having the audacity to vote. #Midterms2018 #BeAVoter 1/ 
African Americans who were 10 that year - and would have been fully able to comprehend the event - will have the chance to vote for an African-American woman to be governor of Georgia. That is amazing #Midterms2018 #BeAVoter 2/
But it also highlights how so much of what we take for granted wasn’t the case within the memory of people still very much with us. Heck, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 15 when Robert Mallard was lynched. #Midterms2018 #BeAVoter 3/
I’ve also looked up more details on the case. Initially the sheriff said Mallard had been killed by people wearing “white stuff,” but he later changed his story and authorities tried to charge Mallard’s wife with his murder (yes, really). #Midterms2018 #BeAVoter 4/
As was common for the era, people were charged but acquitted by an all-white jury (after only 25 minutes of deliberation). The Klan later burned down the Mallard house, but the sheriff dismissed it as “an accident.” #Midterms2018 #BeAVoter 5/
In short, value your right to vote, use it, and don’t ever let anyone take it away from you. Vote for yourself, your country, but also for Robert Mallard. #Midterms2018 #BeAVoter 6/
