The Winona Board of Aldermen voted during Tuesday’s meeting to approve a proclamation in celebration of the late civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer.
Hamer was a remarkably adamant figure in desegregation and voter registration as a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1964 and a co-organizer of the 1964 Freedom Summer voter registration drive in Mississippi.
The 1960s was a pivotal era in United States history as different races of people from across the country gathered together to fight for equality, civil rights and the right to vote for all citizens.
Some of those citizens, who were teenagers during the Civil Rights Movement, were at the Montgomery County Courthouse during the public hearing on voter precinct relocation/consolidation.
They were there to protect the idea of having reasonable access to a voting precinct.
They filled the boardroom quietly listening to reasons for the changes provided by Montgomery County Supervisors.
Each voter who spoke out against precinct relocation/consolidation did so in a respectful, non-violent yet assertive manner that proved effective decades ago and again on Monday.
Voters voiced their concerns with specific reasons, and their elected officials respected their opinions and addressed their needs – allowing most of the targeted precincts to remain in their current locations.
Unlike Montgomery County officials’ willingness to meet the needs of voters, such consideration is not being given to voters in neighboring counties or states.
Redistricting and voter suppression has been a key topic among legislators across the U.S. in recent years, escalating in months following the 2020 presidential election that yielded Joseph Biden as president and Kamala Harris as the first female vice president of color.
Some states have been redrawing district lines; some are increasing restrictions on in-person voting; and others are focusing on absentee voting.
These tactics are not limited to specific races and genders.
During the Civil Rights Movement (late 1940s – late 1960s), citizens fought for the rights of African Americans to vote and around the turn of the 20th century to 1920, they fought for women’s voting rights.
These days however, everyone must be diligent about preserving their voting rights and demand fair access to cast their ballots.
