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By Supervisor Monica Montgomery SteppeHappy Fourth of July!
Formally known as Independence Day, today celebrates the United States declaring independence from Great Britain, creating a land with the promise of liberty and justice for all.
But we know reality is a far cry from that promise. Slavery was not abolished in the United States until nearly a century later. And it took a whole two years for that word of freedom to reach enslaved people in Galveston, Texas.
Centuries later, modern day slavery is still thriving in the form of mass incarceration and prison labor. Communities of color, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals nationwide are still fighting for equal rights, while their existing rights are being attacked in real time.
All the while the current administration is running a regime that acts first and asks questions later, detaining, dehumanizing, and deporting primarily Black and Brown U.S. citizens with no regard for due process.
This is liberty and justice for some, not all.
The fight for freedom is more urgent today than ever before. In times when it’s easy to be consumed by the hateful forces fighting against our rights to exist, I choose to see hope.
I see hope in the millions who have shown up in the streets to protest the current administration. I see hope in the activists and organizers who are working full time to dismantle the institutions of white supremacy designed to disenfranchise.
I see hope standing alongside each and every one of you as we continue to fight for equity, justice, and love.
Make no mistake — the work ahead will be tough. But know that I will always be your partner in this fight.
Today, I celebrate hope. Tomorrow, we put our heads down and get back to work.
The opinions in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org
Comments
"Reader's Editorial":Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe
This particular "Readers Editorial resonates with me in so many ways, particular in regard to these troubling and scary times that our beloved country is going through! As a writer that had earlier submitted my own Reader's Editorial in this news magazine in regard to gun violence, along with writing a book review on Mass Incarceration, which the author of this editorial references, I am truly saddened at the direction that our country is going. The book review that I am referring to, "The New Jim Crow", which has garned more than 500,000 reads in the East County Magazine, along with winning the NAACP Image Award in Literature, speaks of what Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe says in this tremendous editorial! Kudos to the author!
"TEXAS": The most idiotic thing that I have ever heard!
Imagine this, a people that have ben enslaved and discriminated against all their lives, now agreeing to sit for a "Quorom" down in Texas under the threat and orders of the Governor of that racist state, Gov ernor Abbott! It is beyond me and comprehension that we would allow ourselves to sit and vote on a redistricting map to give the State of Texas and President Trump 5 additional seats, when they have already stolen through redistricting additional seats! It is the most idiotic thing that I have evr heard, and I have heard it all, by being from Chicago where I helped to elect the first black Mayor of that fine city, Harold Washington! Harold Washington and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall would roll over in their graves to hear what is going on in Texas, and to know that legislators from Texas would have to flee to my beloved hometown of Chicago under threat to resist having a quorom to further enslave them! This is the height of incredulity! Have we really gone that far back? And , what about the voting rights act, was that all for nothing? It is like I am living a nighmare and will wake up to realize it was only a dream. My going down to Mississippi some 30 years ago on "Freedom Ride II" to help elect the first black to Congress since Reconstruction, is now seemingly a dream! And, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts being the deciding factor and justice in the repeal of the Voting Rights Amendment, what would he now say???? These are scary and perilous times!
It's hypocritical since Republicans in Congress adjourned
early and left Washington DC to avoid having to vote on disclosing the Epstein files. I don't see any calls for their ouster over this, yet Dems in Texas who left the state to avoid voting on gerrymandering districts have been threatened with being removed by the Governor and replaced with Republicans he would appoint if they don't return and vote.
This is totally undemocratic but the Supreme Court is under GOP control now, and there seems to be no bar too low for them to stoop to in order to retain and expand their power.
This is why California Governor Newsom wants the Legislature to put an initiative on the ballot for voters that if passed, would allow California to redistrict (favoring Democrats) though only if Texas or other red states engage in gerrymandering. Newsom is fighting fire with fire, or trying to. But it shouldn't have to be this way--all states should strive for fair and impartial redistricting. Texas is willing to cheat to win, and pushing others to do the same. Shameful!
Shelby County v. Holder, Attorney General, Decided June 25, 2013
Miriam, with all due respect, what is going on in Texas is about a history of black disenfranchisment, and not necessarily Republicans against Democrats! It just so happens that blacks seem to be aligned with Democrats due to getting a more favorable treatment in regard to human and racial rights. Yes, in Texas they have already gerrymandered voting districts to get more white representation and consideration, and now they want 5 more districts! We ned to call it like it is, and if not for Chief Justice John Roberts in the attached Shelby County v. Holder we would not be having this debate. It was President Johnson who stood before black leaders after the signing of the Voting Rights act some 65 years ago that got the praise for standing up for blacks, after a history of racism and discrimination, and now we see a continued fight for justice and equalty. See attached here.