By Judith Browne Dianis (co-director of Advancement Project) and Christina Sanders (Texas State Director of the League of Young Voters). Originally published in the Houston Chronicle.
In less than a year, Texans will be going to the polls to exercise one of the most cherished rights of our democracy: the right to vote. It is the fundamental pillar of our democracy that in the voting booth we are all equal - black or white, young or old, rich or poor. When we cast our ballot, we all raise an equal voice to determine the shape of our government.
It was not always that way in the Lone Star State. In the post-Reconstruction era, blacks were violently denied their right to vote. Jim Crow laws and poll taxes made voting impossible for many of Texas’ African-American citizens. Read more…