How black voters impact elections

Before passage of the Voting Rights Act, an estimated 23 percent of eligible Black voters were registered nationwide; by 1969 that number rose to 61 percent. By 1980, the percentage of the adult Black population on Southern voter rolls surpassed that in the rest of the country. Historian James C. Cobb wrote in 2015 that “by the mid-1980s there were more Black people in public office in the South than in the rest of the nation combined.”

We impact elections. Black American influence has impacted not only our country, but the world. As we assert ourselves as a powerful force within the democratic process, we should be motivated to increase awareness, drive voter registration and assist in high voter turnout.

We have taught multiple cultures throughout history. We have even taught ourselves languages without books. We teach patience through our continuous love, but we also lead. We have led our families through systemic racism, led by example with virtue and we have led cultures throughout time. Teaching and leading is engrained in the fabric of who we are, it is our culture. It is black history! We will now engrain voting into that same culture. We teach. We lead. We vote! Through voting we can guide America back to global leadership.