Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1963 will forever flutter in our national consciousness as a benchmark on the path to increased equality for all Americans. That day witnessed a human wave of anger, idealism and hope on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Fast-forward 50 years.
The better angels in most people have won the day, and blatant racism is now on the run. We see this acutely on campus where the wounds of state-sponsored segregation have mostly healed. It should be a hope of our generation to push it deeper into remission.
In the age of Obama, conservatism has become desperate on the national level. A democratic leaning “coalition of the ascendant,” comprised of young people, Hispanics, African Americans and women have ended white male control over presidential politics.
Naturally you would think that the GOP would recognize this and try to moderate their message. Perhaps a comprehensive immigration reform bill would give them a chance to compete for Hispanic votes. Maybe they can focus on improving the economic conditions of poor Americans without demonizing welfare recipients. At the very least they should probably stop saying completely racist things. Nope. Just ask Rep. Steve King what he thinks of illegal immigrants.
Instead of real change in the party, they have decided to make voting harder for people who don’t vote for them.
Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) limited early voting, which resulted in outrageously long lines in many Democratic leaning precincts during the 2012 elections.
These politically motivated actions have been happening everywhere possible. It’s not even a secret. The Pennsylvania Republican House Leader admitted that his state’s voting law requirements would help Mitt Romney.
During summer 2012, I had the opportunity to intern at the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington D.C. One encounter sticks out in my mind more than any other.
Late on an otherwise regular weekday, a black man walked into the basement of party headquarters. My boss and I shuffled out to greet the new arrivals as we always did, but then I realized who was passing the threshold: Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.). It was the first time I was ever really star-struck.
Lewis was the youngest person to speak during the March on Washington. He was a freedom rider beaten close to death in his youth. An Alabama native, he served as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and studied at the feet of Dr. King.
After recording a radio ad for his campaign back, I asked to take a picture with him. When I told him I went to Alabama, his eyes lit up. He was transported back to a different time in history. The dramatic change and the starkness of the moment brought me close to tears. He held on to my arm as he told various tales of the past. While our conversation lasted no more than five minutes, it felt like a religious experience.
Lewis is as close as we can get to the essence of Dr. King and the civil rights movement now. When he talks, we should all listen.
“I gave a little blood … for that right to vote,” Lewis said at a 50th anniversary rally commemorating the March on Washington a few days ago. “I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us.”
Rich Robinson is a junior majoring in telecommunication and film. His column runs weekly on Tuesdays.
