WAR ON BLACKS:

Chapter 1B.3.2
BLACKS, VOTING RIGHTS AND THE LAW:
Why it's called the War on Blacks:

“The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery.” ---Thomas Paine, Founding Father

Leaving Thomas Paine aside, this country has had one hell of a history making sure that Blacks Don’t and Can’t VOTE. The Poll tax is good example, but by far the favorite method has been voter disenfranchisement.

It seems that the U.S. Constitution allowed disenfranchisement of criminals, a loop-hole that was ruthlessly exploited then and still exploit now.

"For example, Mississippi's 1890 constitutional convention, which became a model for other states, replaced an 1869 constitutional provision disenfranchising citizens convicted of 'any crime' with a narrower section disenfranchising only those convicted of certain crimes. Crime which blacks were supposedly more likely than whites to commit." . . . "Burglary, theft, arson, and obtaining money under false pretenses were declared to be disqualifications, while [white crimes such as] robbery and murder, and other [white] crimes in which violence was the principal ingredient, were not.” . . . "At their respective state constitutional conventions, other states, including South Carolina (1895), Louisiana (1898), Alabama (1901), and Virginia (1901-02), also disenfranchised criminals selectively with the intent of disqualifying a disproportionate number of blacks. As in Mississippi, legislators in these states thought that blacks were more likely to commit "furtive offenses" such as petty theft than "robust crimes" such as murder." ^[4]

[Hey Man, I told you there were going to be some moral issues.]

Which in today’s world translates as follows:

“Disenfranchised black males account for 35 percent of all Americans now barred from voting because of felony convictions. Two percent of all Americans, or 3.9 million, have lost the right to vote, compared with 13 percent of black men.” ---Source 1998 study by the Sentencing Project & Human Rights Watch ^[10]

In ten states, more than 20% of black men were debarred from voting. ---"Felon voting rights movement grows," Detroit News , Wed., 24 Feb 1999, p 9A

But wait, what kind of arrests are now being made? You’ve got it; ---and remember, it’s not called the “WAR ON BLACKS” for nothing.

Now, no one is saying that ALL supporters of the anti-Medical Marihuana laws are racists, only that their END actions are. But in either case, the laws themselves as well as those who created them ‘obviously’ had race in mind. Perhaps a good example of this is Harry Anslinger’s, now infamous, Ginger Color Negro Memo, which thanks to the courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidential library (along with the following co-memo), we have also been able to obtain copies of:

Department of Justice
Washington D.C.
December 17, 1934

My dear Mr. Howe: The enclosed copy of a letter is self-explanatory. I want you to call the attention of the President to it, and have him know that an avalanche of protest against Mr. H.J. Anslinger is headed toward the White House.

There is absolutely no excuse for this type of official communication going all over the United States. It is not only an insult to colored people, but it has a tendency to lead colored people to believe that this is the type of treatment they may expect from the Roosevelt Administration. Or, it may also evidence the attitude of this particular Federal Officer toward colored people. In any event, the President gets the “black eye”, and this is what must not happen.

I am reliably informed that the recent narcotic raid was not so genuine and effective as the publicity it received indicates.
Sincerely yours,
Robert L. Vann.

White House Memo

Harry Anslinger's Circular Letter No. 324

Need any more proof, just look at these faces.

Narcotics Peddlers

And the story remains the same.

FOOTNOTES:
[4] Source: Andrew L. Shapiro, "Challenging Criminal Disenfranchisement Under the Voting Rights Act: A New Strategy," 103 Yale Law J 537-566 (Nov 1993).
[10]- http://www.sentencingproject.org, & http://www.hrw.org/

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