Like many who were enslaved when they were born, #FrederickDouglass did not know his birthdate. He adopted February 14th as his birthday. He remains among the most brilliant, fierce, eloquent, prescient Black leaders and American patriots in our history. Heed his words. 1/
In January 1865 Douglass gave a speech “What the Black Man Wants” in which he pressed for the right to vote. Among the reasons:
“I believe that when the tall heads of this Rebellion shall have been swept down...& blotted out, there will be this rank undergrowth.....” 2/
“...of treason... interfering with the quiet operation of the Federal Govt in those States. You will see traitors handing down, from sire to son, the same malignant spirit which they have manifested & which they are now exhibiting....with broad blades & bloody hands....” 3/
“That spirit will still remain...That enmity will not die out in a year, will not die out in an age...They will endeavor to circumvent, they will endeavor to destroy, the peaceful operation of this Government.” 4/
“Now, where will you find the strength to counterbalance this spirit, if you do not find it in the negroes of the South?”
Douglass understood before the Civil War was even over that American democracy and the integrity of the Republic could only be preserved with the Black vote.
We must end voter suppression and prioritize passage of #HR1 and #HR4 if this country is to save itself from the abyss. Call your Senators - every week at 202-224-3121.
Read Douglass’ “What the Black Man Wants” in full here:
loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Dou…

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More from @Sifill_LDF

31 Jan
So excited. Starting now, the world premiere of #MyNameIsPauliMurray at @sundancefest.
#PauliMurray was another among a litany of women like Ida B Wells, who many don’t know also challenged segregation in public transportation years before Rosa Parks #MyNameIsPauliMurray
Born in #Baltimore, raised in Durham, NC. Her mother died; her father institutionalized. Raised by her aunt (a teacher) in Durham. “The classroom was my second home.”
Read 16 tweets
31 Jan
Gentlemen, my problem with this argument is that they were teaching civics in school during Massive Resistance to Brown; during the violent resistance to the Little Rock 9, racist violent resistance to busing in Boston & to integrated housing in Cicero, IL.
I’m a proponent of civics - a deeper, richer study of history, democratic governance here & abroad, economics, the rights & responsibilities of citizenship, &!guidance in how to read critically. All undergirded w/the essential foundation of race, gender & class.
Nostalgic Americans should be haunted by the experience described in Beth Roy’s book Bitters in the Honey, of a white student at Central High School in Little Rock as she watched out of her classroom window as a white mob chased a Black reporter.
Read 8 tweets
29 Jan
So the top line story is that Trump has hired as one of his impeachment attys an atty who was found to have struck Black ppl firm jury service 3 yrs after the SCOTUSreinforced the unconstitutionality of the practice. But the undercard is pretty impt. 1/ huffpost.com/entry/trump-im…
Because here’s what happened to this lawyer who violated the Supreme Court’s admonition in Batson v Kentucky:
Jury service is, like voting, one of the core expressions and rights of citizenship. Keeping Black ppl from jury svc is unconstitutional and is as ugly and pernicious as voter suppression.
Read 5 tweets
13 Jan
If you’ve studied white supremacist lynch mobs then what we are seeing is devastatingly familiar - including the defiance vs. law enforcement. When the MD Gov called the National Guard to arrest the men who lynched George Armwood in 1933 another mob formed to challenge the Guard. Image
This stand-off is in the town of Salisbury, MD a month after Armwood was lynched. The mob even turned a fire hose on the the Guardsman who were there to arrest the suspected lynchers of Armwood. This is what lynch mobs were like. Are like. Image
Is it still a lynch mob if they don’t succeed in lynching? Yes. I wrote about the near-lynching of George Davis in 1932. Lynch mobs went to 4 different county jails on the Eastern Shore of MD looking for him after a white woman alleged Davis attempted to assault her. Image
Read 5 tweets
10 Jan
I know there’s a lot to absorb tonight, but please read and share this. buzzfeednews.com/article/emmanu…
Read 4 tweets
31 Dec 20
Thinking over the moments that motivated me this year & how powerfully & clearly this country revealed itself. It was confirmation of all I have known, but I also learned so much more. The clarity with which I see the challenges we face has strengthened my resolve beyond measure.
It started with one of the best days ever. My journey with the #USPS this year has been kind of “how it started...how it’s going.” First, the unveiling of the #GwenIfillForever stamp in January. So grateful for this honor from the @USPS.
By November we were in a pitched battle w/the #USPS to ensure that absentee ballots were delivered on time after new postal leadership imposed measures that resulted in delivery delays in major cities. msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/sh…
Read 24 tweets

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