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FORTY YEARS LATER, VOTE OR DIE ?
Submitted by Councilman Goode on Tue, 08/09/2005 - 5:31am.
Voting rights for African-Americans were guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution ratified on February 3, 1870 - but not until 40 years ago was there a federal law to fully protect those rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law on August 6 of that year by President Lyndon B. Johnson primarily to end practices of racial discrimination that blocked voter registration and included the use of poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses to politically disenfranchise African-Americans.
As we reflect on the last forty years of progress that has been made in terms of Black political empowerment both locally and nationally, it is now time to also address the generation gap that exists within this community and the nation as a whole.
In Philadelphia, I am the only member of City Council that was born after the Voting Rights Act was signed – in fact; I was born only a few days later. And, although there are seventeen members of council - only two, other than me, are under the age of fifty.
It appears, to many, that today's young adults are less engaged in the political process than previous generations were - only recently turning out to vote in significant numbers against President Bush. In that election, the rallying theme of "Vote or Die!" was linked to anti-war sentiments held by many young people who were encouraged to vote for a change. Since the November election, much of that youthful enthusiasm has faded. And when asked about voter apathy among their peers, the younger generation often points to the current political status quo which they feel distant from - one that needs more diversity - and that practices age discrimination.
Locally, only seven of seventeen council members are African-American in a city that is predominantly of color. In fact, only three at-large members are either female or men of color - the majority are still white males and only one of them is under the age of fifty.
Today, I became forty years old just like the voting rights act - and as a consistent voter in every election since I was eighteen, I've never needed a "Vote or Die!" campaign. But I was raised in an independent political movement and the very first vote that I cast was for my father to become the city's first African- American mayor in 1983.
Clearly, as a second-generation elected official, I've seen political progress made during my lifetime and I take the opportunity to share my experiences with younger people who don't necessarily have the same enthusiasm for electoral politics. But I also listen to their frustration with the political process.
The younger generation is sometimes accused of having misguided values centered mostly on material pursuits, but where did those values come from? And don't most people of any age vote based upon their economic interests?
This generation is more concerned than many may think. Unfortunately, too many opt out of the political process rather than invest in its reform.
Young Philadelphians now see a City Council whose average age will probably be at least sixty at the time of the next election cycle and a city government that still does business almost exclusively with white men. They see a state government that raises its own compensation level without even considering a minimum wage hike for the rest of the state. And they see a federal government that has divested from urban America in a way that diminishes their economic hope.
In short, they see an older generation that can not hold its political representatives accountable.
The issue now becomes whether this generation can change it quality of life and remain removed from the political process. For too many, the right to vote still doesn't give them a reason to vote.
But if they ever fully envision the real connection between politics and their quality of life, they will vote in large numbers - and surely earn a better living because of it.
Great post
Another excellent post. Happy birthday!
First of all, is anyone concerned that our City Council members are posting at 5:30am? I think Councilman Goode's last post was at 3am. Hmmm.....
To actually address the meat of your post, I agree that many of the youth-focused voter mobilization groups have lost momentum. P.Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign was one of the most visible and now that is almost completely dead. I think this is due to that fact that it was celebrity driven. Instead of being based on community organizing and building lasting relationships, these efforts were centered on celebrities who could get a lot of people together for large media events. While this looked good on the evening news, it didn’t actually do anything to build power for young people.
It also seemed like much of what P.Diddy and other celebrities did was non-political. While I think anti-war sentiments may have been fueling many young people's votes in the last election, did any of the celebrities urging them to vote really give voice to these concerns?
Secondly, I believe our political cultural (and particularly media coverage of politics) has evolved to encourage youth to be jaded. The main message given to us by all forms of media is that politics is completely corrupt and government is useless. For a progressive like me, who has always believed that government can be a place where people come together to work for the common good, this is particularly disheartening. Of course, this mentality helps conservatives, whose main goal over the past 40 years has been to destroy government programs and regulations. It’s easy to attack school lunches if you’ve convinced the public that government is hopelessly corrupt and inept.
A Vision for Economic Justice
Councilman Goode's post is an excellent example of the kind of leadership our city so desperatly needs on economic juctice. The new condos and highrises being added to our city are a welcome change from the stagnation that began with the end of the manufacturing economy in the 70's. However, the build, build, build mentality will not solve the structural problems in our city's economy which has created some economic winners at the expense of a lot more losers.
Anyway, I won't pontificate any further, but I do want to say that Councilman Goode is one of the very few elected officials in our city who seems to get that our economy will only continue to grow if we can get beyond bells and whistles and add increased wages, improved lending practices, inclusionary zoning and other high-road ideas to our economic development bag of tricks.
A comment on racial representation in leading the city: beyond Council, within the so-called Progressive community, there is a dearth of leadership by people of color. The result is a community that claims to be the bold visionaries and agents for change in the city, yet are incapable of actually engaging many people who are different than them. One example of the way that the city's predominantly white, upper middle class progressive "leadership" demonstrates their out-of-touchness is to talk constantly talk derisively about Council exempting only Councilman Cohen.
Meanwhile, Councilman Goode has led and is leading the charge on some of the most important issues of the day (the Philly minimum wage bill stands as an example of this). Some members of the progressive community have given him credit for his stances, but he does not factor into their thinking as a key player in making real change happen.
Despite the ignorance of older progressives on Goode's achievments and potential, those of us who are a bit younger are lucky because we know how great his work has been so far. And we can look forward to many more years of his visionary ideas and sensible leadership when the city is finally turned over to those younger among us.
Meanwhile, how do we get more young people of color involved in a progressive movement to re-vision city government as a real agent for change now? Additionally, I would add that we are one of the few cities who has never elected a queer Mayor or City Council person. And while there may be some gender parity on Council, the power of women in city government is still much weaker than that of men.
Any specific ideas on how to solve this?
Couple things
First of all, Happy Birthday, Councilman Goode...
In terms of generation gaps on City Council, I think a lot of that has to do with the structure of the Philadelphia political system, which basically seems to demands years of chits paid to the party in order to run, which has a detrimental effect on the quality of people who run for office. (Compounded by the lack of any public funding of elections, which makes developing a huge donor base another must.)
I would argue, however, that it is impossible to say that African-Americans are not represented on City Council. African-Americans make up 43 percent of Philadelphia, according to Census 2000, and, with 7 out of 17 representatives on City Council, hold 41 percent of City Council seats. If you want to call that underrepresention, would you call having 8 Councilmembers, and hence 48 percent of Council seats, over-represenation? I think that what has struck me about the Philadelphia system is that the party has successfully gotten people of all colors, for better or worse, to buy into their brand of politics. (And, lets be honest, having most of the people of color as District Councilman, rather than at large, really means more power, not less, given how the Philly system operates.)
Your overall point though, as I read it, is a really important one: vote or die, and the like, are not effective means of mobilizing the young. I would encourage you to check out Mike's or Alex's posts on efforts to mobilize the young that are not always aimed around election time, or even elections themselves.
Rock the Vote, Vote or Die, and the like will always serve a purpose. But, if we want to politicize and mobilize our fellow young people, we have to do a lot more than hand out buttons, or throw up a few billboards.
I appreciate your understanding of the need for change, and look forward to working with you to help groups that are working to acheive this.
Response to comments made about Vote or Die post
I am just getting back from vacation - after celebrating my birthday in the Carribean. And believe it or not, one of the first things that I did was read the responses to my post.
Let me address a few issues quickly:
1)The best way to get involved politically is to volunteer for a campaign in EVERY election - and the best way to organize is to recruit other volunteers that will continue to bond.
2) Also, African Americans are considered by many to be underrepresented specifically in the 2nd Council District - and Latinos are similarly underepresented in the 7th District (despite the fact that my colleagues who represent those areas care about those constituents).
Additionally, at-large representation is what swings many major policy issues on key votes - and guaranteeing two Republican seats doesn't make much sense to me any longer (but again, at least one of my at-large Republican colleagues is focused on a broad constituency). The power to change the city rests with at-large members and how progressive they decide to be - "walking the walk, not just talking the talk". District members generally have more parochial concerns and focusing their power on those concerns can limit their "big picture" thinking.
My point, in the end, is not that certain seats should be held by certain types of people but that 40 years after the voting rights act there is a significant level of organized disenfranchisement still practiced by the political status quo.
There are seats that should , at least, be challenged by a diverse group of candidates - in fact, all seats! :)
3) There actually isn't gender parity on City Council - only 6 of 17 members are women - and although half of them hold "leadership" positions - who dominates the legislative agenda? Who's pushing the political buttons? Who takes center stage in floor debates ?
I appreciate the dialogue and the opportunity to exchange thoughts. When all is said and done, the biggest gap is not racial, gender, or generational - but the gap in "thought" leadership.
WWGjr
A shared perspective on Power
Agreed, Daniel. The real problem is that so many politicians and political pundits need to simply what is complex for them - creating a "soundbite" approach to policy and governing.
Informed dialogue is much more powerful and purposeful.
Speaking to the media in "soundbites" is one thing, but actually thinking in "soundbites" is quite scary.
Also - Ray, thanks for your continued support - I look forward to meeting you.
WWGjr
Power
Councilman Goode-
Thanks for coming and checking back in on the site. It is really good to see this treated as a conversation, rather than a press release; and the fact that you are writing your own posts, and responding to them is a good thing.
As far as power, I think this statement is dead on:
I think that if the power structure that controlled the City were simply racist, it would be a lot easier to take on. But, to my mind, as you imply, the overarching problem is a little more subtle, and in many ways harder to take on.
Again, thanks for writing, and, I look forward to your continuing participation.