Drum Magazine Issue 2 | Page 81

Freedom Ain’t Nothin’ But A Word 7 9 In 1962, after 25 years of trying to register, Mississippi civil rights activist Winson Hudson finally got to vote after she had written out and then explained a lengthy section of the state’s constitution. “The more they did to us, the meaner we got.” Just as racism has become more subtle since then, so have the means of seeking to minimise the black vote in the US. Occaisionally the mask slips. In July, John Pappageorge, Michigan’s Republican state legislator, told a Republican meeting, “If we do not suppress the Americans were the most likely to have their voter registration forms turned down. In Georgia’s Atkinson county, 78% of the registered hispanic voters were summoned to the county courthouse on Thursday to defend their right to vote after allegations that they were not US citizens. The Board of Registrars there dismissed the complaint. “The challenges ... are legally insufficient because they are based solely on race,” said the county attorney, Russ Gillis. “Those of you who are here because you were challenged, go to the polls Tuesday and vote.” 10 years ago the US se