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^Wedptoria l, MAND OPINIONC V PAGE ^ "Wc cannot know where W we are going if we do not know where we have been." i mmsiihim?m j The htm of the IMS Vstlag lights Act to of h. Mujr ?( the positive Vstlag lights Act. Ishsssa Csaaty to oas sf forty csaattos to North Cnto safcjsct to w~* 'ocUui popolsoc ? lev. Mac Lagactan la aa bona red te have Mb aa a gneat cahunlat tMa week. Ha la afflllatad with tt>? Eabaaaa Cant; Claigji and Laity Concerned. Ha'a a toad man with gaad MatMcta. Justice at the Ballot Box ? The Future of the *"??ting Rights Act B> Re*. Mac Lefcrton Robeson County CALC When the Voting Rights Act was signed into law on August 6. 1965. H brought a taste of justice into many communities and counties in the United States. The Act banned literacy tests and racial dis crimination in voting across the nation. It also required specific state and local governments (9 states and pans of 14 others) with a history of dis criminatory voter registration and election laws to submit all changes in election procedures for prior approval to the U.S. Dcpt of Justice. The results of the Voting Rights Act have made democracy more of a reality in the U.S. and have earned it the title of "the most important human rights legislation in the U.S. during the 20th Century". For instance, in 1964 there were only 300 elected Black officials in the entire country and in 1980 there were 4.912 Black officials in office. Pro visions were added to the Act in 1975 to protect voters whose primary language is not English and who are not literate in English. These additions have brought about major increases in voter registration and participation among Spanish speaking citizens. The rights of Native American people, particularly those not living on reservations, have also been supported and protected by the Voting Rights Act. i Key provisions of the Act. including the reviews ( of proposed election changes by the Dept. of | Justice, are due to expire in August 1982, unless Congress renews them. On October 6, 1981, the House of Representatives passed the Voting Rights I i Support for the Voting Rights Act in both the Senate and the Reagan Administration is on shaky ground. Act by an overwhelming 3K9 to 64 vote. The House version kept most of the Act intact but amended Section 5. the Justice Dept. pre-clearance provision. The amendment makes it easier for local govern ments covered by the provision to get out from under special regulations if they have established a 10 year record of non-discrimination. The future of the Voting Rights Act now lies in the decision of the Senate and the attitudes and pressures in the Reagan Administration. .support for the Voting Rights Act in both the Senate and the Reagan Administration is on shaky ground. Sen. Strom Thrumond, an ardent opponent of the Act, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee which is scheduled to take up the Act in January 1982 and decide on a proposal to go to the Senate floor. President Reagan has pub ...if a democracy is going to be a democracy, freedom must be protected and insured by law. licly supported the Act under the condition that more amendments are added to it. The effect of changes being discussed by the Reagan Administra tion include: making it easier for slates and counties to gairr exemption from certain provisions; making it harder to challenge local voting laws by requiring proof of an intent to discriminate as well as actual discriminatory practices; making it harder to eofo tee Federal review of election law changes by refiiSnjpto' extend the^equtrement for bi-lmgtiar1 ballots in certain areas where provisions are due to expire in 1985. These suggested changes in the Voting Rights Act raise an important question: How much can the Voting Rights Act be changed before the demo cratic principles it seeks to uphold and protect are lost or rendered powerless by new regulations? The House version recently passed has already made it easier for local and state governments to bail out of the Voting Rights Act with a good record. Estimates by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights arc that 200 of the 800 counties now under the prc clearance provision could gain exemption from the Act in 1984. The necessity of proving the intent of local and state officials to discriminate will only add to government and private costs, cause additional delays, and intensify local conflict and harassment in an already lengthy and difficult procedure. Evidence from the Justice Department shows that voting discrimination is not a nationwide problem and does not merit a burdensome, nationwide ex pansion of the preclearance provision. Where they are severely needed, bi-lingual ballots provide crucial assistance in the voting process. The Voting Rights Act is now in serious danger ot going the way of other legislation so many amend ments and changes might be added to it that the original intent and effectiveness of the Au will be lost. We face a situation today where President Reagan and members of the Congicss are able to say that they arc in favor of the extension of the * Voting Right* An at the same turn- thai they reject the basic principle> and protection n> vc..*ary lor an effective Voting Rights Bill. There is a tremendous amount of rcsistencc in the U.S. to accepting the hard truth thai equality does not come by right of birth and that if a democracy is going to be a democracy, freedom must be protected and insured by law. So ollcn, those who arc first to cry for tan and order are also the first to weaken or < remove laws which protect basic ficedoms. For those who press for strong laws as a deterrent to I crime, the need for the Voting Rights Act should he very evident as a deteicnt to discrimination These same people arc ^sften the first to cry out for mo^e ? control gt the state level (states' rights), whereby I states would become exempt from enforcement of ' some important 'federal regulations. If we learned anything from the War Between the States. 11 was that Irfcedom is a national concern and cannot be left for separate areaf to decide which freedoms to deny and which freedoms to protect. The message of freedom cannot be a mixed message. Today, the major practices which deny lull voter protection under the law for all citizens are more subtle than ever before. 1 hese include: 1. redisricting voting lines in ways that hieak up minority voting blocks or limit minority rcpiescnta tion by combining several minority districts into one larger one. 2. annexing select populations that dilute minority voting strength in a given district or pre cinct. j. flowing at-large elections in which'everyone votes for all scats instead of holding clertions by districts or precincts. This practice dilutes the minority vote which usually holds a majority in certain precincts but not in an entire town or county. 4. holding run-offs if no candidate receives a majority of the votes instead ol giving the scat to the candidate with the highest number of votes. A minority candidate w ho actually wins an election by receiving the most votes will usually lose a run-off election against a member of the majority race 5. changing the place to vote without public notice. After arriving at an empty voting place, voters are sometimes too discouraged to go some where else to vote. 6. and failing to get pre-clearance from the Justice Department before changing voting procedures. This practice, whether intentional or unintentional is happening at an increasing rate in. direct violation of Section S of the Voting Rights Act. We must never forget that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was onl) passed after a great sacrifice of time, energy an<i lives. 1 here would probably be no Voting Rights Act today if it were not for the com mitment of the leaders and participants of the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s. The very least that concerned cili/ens can do today is to sit down and write a letter to their Senators and President Reagan expressing their support for the renewal of the Voting Rights Act in ** the form approved so overwhelm! ngiy by members WWlliVttni* orifcprescntaTvS. The "ffou^c? 'Version is not the best we could do.'Dut, in light of the on-going attempts to severely harm the effective ness of the Act. it is the best wc can hope for in 1982 It is the responsibility of all citizens to protect the rights of all citizens. If w e lose the Voting Rights Act in its solid form, wc all will have lost a taste'of justice the next time wc visit the ballot box. ? i i Urgent Action Thr Senile Judiciar) Subcommittee on Constitution (chaired by Senator Hatch of I .'tab) has scheduled hearings beginning in mid-January and ending late in Kebruary. After that, we anticipate efforts by the Act's opponents to stall it as part of their plan to let the legislation lapse in August of I9M2. Please contact the senator in your stale. Ask him/her to: 1. support the House-passed (If K .HI2)and 2. encourage the Judiciary Committee to report the Voting Kights Act esiensiun promptly. CALC FjjEPORT I January 1982 "Truth, when witty, it the wittiest of all things." Julius Charles Hare ? _ ^ AN EDITORIAL EXPRESSION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Wants Indian Pen Pals Dear Sir, I am interested in Native American cultural heritage. I'm writing you hoping that through your newspaper I might get to write to young people and anybody else who truly has his heart in his heritage and who in general would like corresponding with me. I am 21 years old. 1 would be very grateful if you could assist me in my request. / Yours sincerely, Baymead Frost 2V KJdge Koad Ci?Mew P.O. UnkhiDe 3652 * - Natal Rep. See tli Africa Saddletree Jaycettes Salute 4Jaycee Week' Whereas, the United States Jaycees and Jaycettes provide leadership training and per sonal development to young men and women between the ages of 18 and 35; and Whereas, Jaycees and Jay cettes believe that "Service to Humanity is the best work of life," and Whereas, Jaycees and Jay cettes strive to make their communities better places in which to live; and Whereas, Jaycees and Jay cettes feel that "enough is enough" and that govern mental awareness is essen tial; and Whereas, Jaycettes recog nize that Jaycees have contri buted -substantially to the-, progress of America; Therefore, be it resolved that the United States Jay cettes commend the United States Jaycees for their many accomplishments across America and salute the Sad dletree Jaycees during United States Jaycees Week January 17-23, 1982. Signed by Saddletree Jaycettes 11 "JEbSk The CanMu imikut Vote*,; P.O. ?** MIS j! , Pe^krote. N.C. 3B373 1 2ND CLASS POSTAGE PAD ? [ AT PEMABOKE. N.C. 2SI72 |. I> Mfaar MJS i 2 Yean IS.*? I Mrf** 1 Year S1XM 1 2 Yearm SMJ? j ; ***************** i LUMBEE PRIDE ?China *Hutches ? ?Cabinets Zustom made products. ?Quality Furniture Contact James Lynn Lowry at 521-9030 Pembroke, NC Free Brochures Offered The progressive Gardening Institute is a non-profit organ ization fully approved by die I.R. S. with a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status. Our main purpose is to educate, inform, and teach the public on bow to raise and perserve their own food for the future. In order to acquaint your readers with our organization we are offering 5 brochures prepared by us absolutely free and postpaid to anyone who might be interested. There is absolutely no obligation on their part to buy anything at present or in the future from us. The 5 brochures being offered free of charge are: (1) HoW to Layont a Garden (2)Preparing the Sefl far Yenr Garden (3) Irrigating Yenr Garden (4) Controlling Weeds the Easy Way and (5) Hew te Can Fruits and Vegetables. We feel these brochures will Be of great be^fflr&vour traders anfltbopcWWv-dtf rise* ^Please have all readers interested respond to: Five Free Brochures c/o Progressive Gardening Inc. P.O. Box 500 ' Morrison, TN 37357 Thank You, G.L. Stephens President - Pharmacist fi Pembroke Drag Center Odammtd W. 3rt, PtmbroA., NC Preserve those choir voices Attention choir members, announcers, and any one who may need to preserve your voice! Avoid singing or shouting, as the case may be, whenever your voice sounds abnormal ? whether this be due to illness or to medication. Permanent hoarseness could result. You see, cer tain pharmacy drugs, such as antihistamines and anti depressants, tend to dry up the mucus glands responsi ble for moistening your vocal cords. Consequently, over-use of the voice under these conditions could permanently thicken your dried out vocal cords and cause irreversible hoarseness. Health is priceless. Look after it! M1-4SOS m' _ Hk, - . ?L M mL ^ X* j[ HI B THUS WEEK'S SPECIAL | Many Models qual ify I for No Down Payment! I 1973 I Monte I Carlo I * 1976 | Malibu | Classic Chevrolet m mmmi 1 MM ? :!i>5" ?' t,
The Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.)
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Jan. 21, 1982, edition 1
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