Black History Month Day 16: Voting Has Always Been Contested
Black History Fact:
Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were designed specifically to prevent Black Americans from voting after Reconstruction.
Voting rights were not “lost.” They were stolen.
Black history makes clear that barriers to voting were engineered with precision. The goal was never subtle. It was effective.
The language has changed. The strategy has not.
Today, voter ID laws, closed polling places, purged rolls, and gerrymandered districts continue the same work under new names. The effect is what matters—not the justification.
When access to the ballot is restricted, democracy shrinks.
Black history teaches us that voting is not just a civic duty. It is a battleground.
And every generation must decide whether to defend it—or surrender it quietly.
Julie Bolejack, MBA
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