Tag: voter intimidation

On March 19, 2020, shortly after international institutions announced that millions of dollars would be available to impoverished countries with COVID-19 cases, Haitian authorities finally addressed the coronavirus pandemic by declaring two cases in the country. Haitians were outraged by silence and inaction of authorities as news spread of preventative measures being implemented in neighboring Dominican Republic and other countries.

Democracy has been sorely missing in Haiti ever since the 2004 coup d’état backed by the U.S., France and Canada, which ushered in a two-year reign of terror, followed by the unjust exclusion of Haiti’s largest and most popular political party, Fanmi Lavalas, from participating in any elections until August and October 2015.

Benton Harbor reminds me of Mississippi in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I have never been one to rave about how much progress my generation has made, but I had hoped to see an end to these horrors in my lifetime. All citizens have the civil right to recall an elected official or initiate a referendum by way of petition. This is our only outlet. Berrien County sheriffs are intimidating, harassing and using Gestapo tactics to infringe on the civil rights of citizens of Benton Harbor.

Scalia has made it clear why this case is before the Court – it’s about race and white “race entitlement.” The Voting Rights Act was passed because no group is going to “apportion themselves out of power.” If the Court rules in favor of Shelby County in the face of its racist record, it will be doing nothing more than validating white power and racism.