Editor, The Commercial:
I was responding to a letter received yesterday afternoon asking that it be shared with my network. I refuse to spread this information among Black people because it is one-sided. The question: Why haven't any of the NAACP branches looked at Georgia election law and shared with the public how it compares to voting laws in other blue states to determine which ones are more related to Jim Crow 2.0, Georgia or New York?
New York does not allow "providing meat, drink, tobacco, refreshment or other provision with a retail value of more than a dollar close to the entrance of polling places." The Georgia law prohibits food and drinks distribution by campaign workers also that are close to an entrance of the polling stations.
Georgia's law now allows for 17 days of early in-person voting. New York only provides for 10 days of in-person voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Georgia has "no excuse" absentee voting. New York requires voters casting absentee ballots to provide a reason.
The NAACP Detroit Branch has sent out a letter to distract and politicize the name of King to emotionalize many Black folks. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life servicing others and his name should not be associated in any way with polarizing and divisive issues.
"We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools:" Dr. MLK Jr.
African Americans must take a stand, stop being taken for granted. They give us a Juneteenth National Holiday and give illegals a $450k check.
Point, we vote, yet there is minuscule return on our voting investment. Those coming across the borders don't vote but are made rich. HBCUs had $45 billion, but $43 billion were taken away. Why was there no public response from the NAACP?
Why not press for resources to help our youngsters become proficient in reading, math, science and social studies? This is the kind of re-investment needed in the African American communities to produce long-lasting and life-changing results.
When will the call go out for billions to help African American small businesses, i.e., retention and start-up? Finally, Dr. King was a champion of nonviolence; therefore what hinders the NAACP from taking on the issue to reduce the killings in communities of color? These are the civil rights issues of today.
Rev. Jesse C. Turner, executive director,
Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc.