The Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance, in honor of Black History Month 2023, revived the daily special series devoted to sharing the legacies and stories of the sheroes, heroes, and events in the fight for Black suffrage. This series was created in 2017 and this year, added a total of 7 NEW articles. In addition to these daily newsletters all February long, this series also incorporates daily social media posts; an interactive calendar; and, website blog posts to spread the word broadly.
Thank you for following our #VRABlackHistory series, where for 28 days we have honored, recognized, and educated about a person, organization, or event, spanning over 5 centuries and told in chronological order about those moments that forever changed the movement for African-American suffrage. Below is the list of all 28 articles that were published this year.
We encourage everyone to share this series to your networks and on social media under the hashtag #VRABlackHistory. You can also tweet us @TJC_DC to share your own facts.
This is the 5th year we have done the series since 2017. The Transformative Justice Coalition thanks those who have been republishing our articles, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your websites, and as articles. Over these past 28 days, these Black History emails have been opened over 76,000 times, with over 3,700 individual clicks. You have responded with gratitude and an eagerness for knowledge, despite this being one of the most controversial Black History Months in recent times. In light of the recent attempts to ban Black History, we are even more pleased to share these stories this year and have encouraged everyone in the 18 states that are banning Black History to share these stories broadly!
We want to extend our gratitude for your appreciation of the history this series shares.
This article is written by Caitlyn Cobb. All the sources are linked throughout the article with a full reference list at the end of the full article which can be read by clicking the button at the bottom of the page). This is an introductory summary page.
Today, we highlight the current state of felon disenfranchisement and honoring those fighting for the right to restore the vote to returning citizens (those with past felony convictions). This is part 2 of the 2-part article reviewing felon disenfranchisement and the individuals affected. The Transformative Justice Coalition is committed to working with groups worldwide to combat felon disenfranchisement. Written in October of 2016, "Understanding Felon Disenfranchisement Laws & The Individuals Affected" was a two-part Transformer original article examining felon disenfranchisement. Disenfranchisement is when you deny the right to vote to a person or group, or deny the right to vote through practices or policies. In America, an estimated 6.1 million people with past felony convictions are denied the right to vote in a practice known as felon disenfranchisement.
This #VRABlack History article will update Part One of the 2016 article focused on 2016 felon re-enfranchisement efforts on the state (Maryland and Florida) and federal levels, as well as provides information on the often confusing process of how those with past felony convictions may restore their right to vote. Today's article hopes to clarify some of these misconceptions by exploring and explaining: individual stories of those affected by America's felon disenfranchisement laws; voting rights for individuals who are incarcerated; voting rights for the formerly incarcerated (individuals with past felony convictions); and, the fight to restore the vote by the states.
For purposes of this two-part article, the author uses "felon disenfranchisement" as a broad-brush term to describe the state and federal laws that affect both those currently and formerly incarcerated, unless otherwise specified. The author also knows that there are many preferred terms for individuals with past felony convictions, such as "returning citizen", "ex-felon", and other terms such as, "citizen" and "resident". For purposes of this article, the author most commonly uses the term "individuals with past felony convictions", unless citing a quote or reference that uses a different term. References will be listed at the end of the article, with all quotes or references beginning with blue, underlined words that link to the source.