Beginning ~ with a history of disfranchisement

"It was a mystery worthy of Raymond Chandler.  On November 8, 2016, African Americans did not show up.  It was like a day of absence."

One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy ~ by Carol Anderson, 2018

In her New York Times bestseller White Rage, Carol Anderson laid bare an insidious history of policies that have systematically impeded black progress in America, from 1865 to our combustible present.  With One Person, No Vote, she chronicles a related history:  the rollbacks to African American participation in the vote since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Known as the Shelby ruling, this decision effectively allowed districts with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without approval from the Department of Justice.

Focusing on the aftermath of Shelby, Anderson follows the astonishing story of government-dictated racial discrimination unfolding before our very eyes as more and more states adopt voter suppression laws.  In gripping, enlightening detail she explains how voter suppression works, from photo ID requirements to gerrymandering to poll closures.  And with vivid characters, she explores the resistance:  the organizing, activism, and court battles to restore the basic right to vote to all Americans as the nation gears up for the 2018 midterm elections.

I wish I'd been able to read this book sooner, but I will be able to vote on gerrymandering with awareness because I am already aware of the damage it does to our democracy.  Anderson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies at Emory University, where I got my MDiv degree.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Linky.