By Frances Murphy ‘Toni’ Draper
AFRO CEO and Publisher
Ever since I was 5 years old, walking to the polls with my mother, I wanted to vote. I remember watching her proudly cast her ballot, knowing it was both a right and a responsibility hard-won by generations before us. So I proudly applied for my voter card as soon as I turned 18, and I’ve voted in every election since — never once taking it for granted. It is, and always will be, both a privilege and a sacred duty.
That’s why what’s happening today feels so personal. The right to vote — something so fundamental, so essential to freedom itself — is once again under threat. Sixty years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement which promised Black Americans full participation in this democracy, the very law that secured that promise is back on the witness stand.
On Oct. 15, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, a case that could determine how far the Voting Rights Act still protects against racial discrimination in voting. The justices have not yet ruled, but what’s at stake is clear: the strength of every American’s voice at the ballot box.
Let’s be honest: this fight isn’t about “color-blindness.” It’s about power — who has it, who keeps it, and who’s being pushed aside.
A familiar pattern
We’ve seen this play before. Wrapped in slogans about “election integrity,” lawmakers have quietly made voting harder for millions of Americans. They’ve closed polling places in Black neighborhoods, purged voter rolls, shortened early-voting periods and drawn districts that slice through our communities — dividing and diminishing our voice.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has stepped back from its role as the people’s lawyer, dropping cases that once protected voters from discrimination. That’s not neutrality. That’s abandonment.
And here’s the truth: this isn’t about protecting elections — it’s about protecting power. You can’t claim to love America while dismantling the very law that keeps it honest.
The cost of complacency
Black Americans pay taxes. We serve in the military. We educate children, serve communities, and help sustain America’s strength. Yet every generation faces new barriers to the ballot box.
After the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision ended federal review of voting laws in certain states, restrictive changes followed almost overnight. We remember the old tricks — from poll taxes and literacy tests to “How many jelly beans are in the jar?” — and we recognize their modern echoes today.
Now Section 2 — the last major safeguard — is on the line. It may not look like the schemes of the past, but the intent feels all too familiar.
Why everyone should care
This isn’t just about Black voters. It’s about what kind of country we want to be.
If one community’s vote can be weakened, every community’s vote is at risk. If the courts and lawmakers ignore history, discrimination will find new ways to reappear—quieter this time, but just as corrosive.
Protecting the right to vote has never been someone else’s job. It’s ours. Whether by helping neighbors get to the polls, speaking up when we see injustice, or simply refusing to look away, each of us has a part to play.
The call to action
Those working to weaken the Voting Rights Act aren’t defending democracy; they’re redefining it to fit their comfort zone.
We’ve come too far to let them succeed. We won’t sit quietly while the right to vote — the heartbeat of this nation — is chipped away piece by piece. The Voting Rights Act was paid for with courage, sacrifice and faith.
I still remember holding my mother’s hand at the polls, watching her claim a right our ancestors fought to secure. That fight isn’t finished. The right to vote is sacred — and it’s up to each of us to keep it that way.
This article was originally published by Word in Black.