Legacy 2017 South Florida: 25 Most Powerful Women Issue | Page 6

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AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE MIAMI HERALD
CONGRESSWOMAN’S REPORT
By Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson
Advancements in technology have
made the world smaller. Humans
travel farther and faster than ever
before. We have the ability to com-
municate face-to-face with anyone
anywhere in the world. Yet, we seem
to be losing more of our humanity as
we gain more technology.
I am often asked by young peo-
ple what they should do in order to
POLITICS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2017
Wanted: Millennials to Bridge Gap Between Past and Future
attain elected office. My answer is
invariably the same – be of service to
your community and humanity. The
importance of selflessness cannot
be overstated as we embark on a
new era of artificial intelligence and
automation. By our next generation
we could no longer have cars driv-
en by humans or need devices to
communicate. Human employment
could become obsolete. It is critical
to future human development that
we emphasize the importance of in-
vesting in others through sharing our
time and talents.
It is not hyperbole to say the
Millennial Generation is the most
important to preserving humanity.
Millennials have seen the extinction
of some technologies and the rise of
others. The vast majority have never
owned a home phone, but also have
never lived without Internet. The
obsolescence and birth of technolo-
gies during this generation is unprec-
edented.
In that context, this generation is
the last to learn from their parents
about technologies that lasted for de-
cades like cars, broadcast television,
and landline phones, and teach their
children about others that became
outdated within years or months.
Millennials are also the last gen-
eration to have parents who may
have lived during the segregation era
and Civil Rights Movement. A com-
mon theme during those periods of
American history was an emphasis
on service and civic involvement.
Major successes in passing landmark
legislation and creating social chang-
es would not have been possible
without accentuating activism.
That spirit of action and service
led to many civil rights leaders
and organizers of that generation
to enter into public service. I am
confident that the same spirit will
imbue the Millennial Generation
and produce many bright, sincere
elected officials, community orga-
nizers, and social activists who will
be the “Voice of the Voiceless.”
Millennials are the bridge be-
tween our past and future, and
they will define the direction of
human evolution. I urge this gen-
eration to shoot for the stars on a
rocket of change that is powered by
service to others. I am excited by
the boundless possibilities and look
forward to your many successes.
The Fool’s Gold of No Party Affiliation
changing the system from within the
two-party system.
Running away from the Democratic
Party will not change the system. In
fact, it would disempower Black polit-
ical power and embolden the status
quo. If you voluntarily decide not
to participate in partisan primaries,
then you have ceded your power to
the very parties you despise.
There is a long dark history to this
form
of Black voter suppression in
By Chris Norwood
the South. For many years, white
So often we have discussions about supremacist forces successfully
“how Black folk need to start their
excluded Black voters from primaries
own party” or better yet, “we need
in the South, until Thurgood Marshall
to register as Independents – No Par- argued and won the Smith v All-
ty Affiliation.” Why create self-inflict- wright case before the U.S. Supreme
ed Black voter suppression when we Court in 1944, 10 years before Brown
have been fighting for voter empow- v Board of Education. The Democratic
erment for centuries. Political prog-
Party would not allow Black folk to
ress comes from staring the beast
vote in their primary, as most of the
straight in the face, mastering his
southern states during that time.
technique, and with that knowledge, The Democratic Party argued it was
not violating civil rights because the
Democratic Party was a private orga-
nization and Black folk could vote in
the General Election.
Today, Black voter suppression
takes form in restricting voting of for-
merly incarcerated Americans. Leroy
Jones, founder of the grassroots ad-
vocates Brothers of the Same Mind,
and Neighbors and Neighbors Associ-
ation (NANA), a coalition of inner-city
businesses, spent many years serving
his community. He hoped one day he
could show his brothers that they too
could get their rights restored and
vote. This just happened on October
17 in Tallahassee by the Florida Clem-
ency Board.
Jones is a product of Miami’s proj-
ects, a former drug addict and felon
who went to prison three times. The
people who determined whether Le-
roy could vote were four Republicans
who were all candidates in Repub-
lican primaries. The Florida Clem-
ency Board, made up of the gover-
nor, commissioner of agriculture,
attorney general and chief financial
officer, are all partisan-elected offi-
cials. Governor Rick Scott changed
the automatic restoration of voting
rights for nonviolent offenders.
If you think political party is not
important, then go ask Leroy and
then ask him to now limit his voting
power to mostly predetermined
general elections!
When you affiliate with a party
you can still vote your conscience in
the general election. Therefore, ex-
cluding yourself from primary elec-
tions minimizes your voter power
over the long run. For me, it’s a no
brainer to be party affiliated with
whichever party you like. Voting in
primaries is extremely important. If
it were not, we would not have had
to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to
win that right.