Catholic Diocese Tucson

12 CATHOLIC OUTLOOK JANUARY 2020 Last in a series In the November 2018 pastoral letter against racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts,” the US bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions and institutions. Racism can be indi- vidual, when persons fail to recog- nize certain groups as created in the image of God and equal in dignity, or it can be systemic, where prac- tices or policies treat certain groups of people unjustly. One example of systemic racism is lack of access to the vote for some communities of color. The Church teaches that all persons have a legal right and a responsibility to have their voices heard in the public square to pro- mote human dignity and the com- mon good of society. As people of faith, we have the obligation to help shape the moral character of society by voting and other acts of public participation. We also must act to ensure that the right to vote is protected for all citizens. This has often been threatened for many minorities in the US. Sixty years ago, the US Commis- sion on Civil Rights documented a history of pervasive discrimination toward minorities in all aspects of voting, despite the 15th Amend- ment that prohibits denying citizens the right to vote because of “race, color or previous condition of servitude.” Since the 1870s, threats of violence and actual violence, es- pecially in the South, had been used to discourage African Americans from voting. Government officials openly opposed minority voting. For example, Mississippi Gov. and US Sen. Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi called for Ku Klux Klansmen to visit African Ameri- cans the night before elections to send a message that they should not try to vote. Poll “taxes” became a part of the election system in many states, requiring money from poor sharecroppers for voting privileges. Literacy tests were another systematic attempt to deny voters of color access to the voting booth. In states where educational oppor- tunities for minorities were very limited, many African Americans had little or no literacy skills. Some of these tests were designed so no one could pass, such as demands to recite the entire US Constitution or to count the bubbles in a bar of soap to prove math abilities. Gerry- mandering, the practice of redraw- ing voting district boundaries, was historically used to suppress the African American vote. These injustices prompted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was initially successful in eliminat- ing many of the barriers to voting for minorities. However, a 2018 Report by the US Commission on Civil Rights detailed a decline in the act’s enforcement. The report suggests Latino Americans, Native Americans and African Americans face new barriers to voting. Some Catholic voices are raising concerns about voter identification laws seen in many states in recent years. The Maryland Catholic Conference op- posed one such legislative proposal in 2017, which would “make voting more difficult for people with dis- abilities, the elderly and the poor” who “have already established their identities via voter registration.” State Catholic conferences have also been vocal about other is- sues related to access to voting, including gerrymandering and restoration of voting rights. Others raise concerns about restrictions on early voting, lack of local and accessible registration opportuni- ties and precinct voting locations (especially true in the South and on Native American reservations), and illegal purges of voting rolls, which disproportionately affect African- American and Latino American voters. Studies show 10 percent of Latinos have been harassed at poll- ing places. Today, too many barriers to the right to vote remain for minorities. In response, Catholics are called to ensure that all are able to exercise their rights as faithful citizens and to raise their voices in the public square. Pray with St. John Paul II “Lord God, our Father, you created the human being, man and woman, in your image and likeness, and you willed the diversity of peoples within the unity of the human family. At times, however, the equality of your sons and daughters has not been acknowl- edged, and Christians have been guilty of attitudes of rejection and exclusion, consenting to acts of discrimination on the basis of racial and ethnic dif- ference. Forgive us and grant us the grace to heal the wounds still present in your community on account of sin, so that we will all feel ourselves to be your sons and daughters.” (Universal Prayer on the Day of Pardon) Copyright © 2018, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced in whole or in part without altera- tion for nonprofit educational use, provided such reprints are not sold and include this notice. All photos © iStock Photo. Models used for illustrative purposes. This resource and many others are available at usccb.org/racism. Prayer from Pope John Paul II, Universal Prayer, March 12, 2000, copy- right © 2000, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), Vatican City. Used with permission. All rights reserved. “Racism can only end if we contend with the policies and institutional barriers that perpetuate and preserve the inequality - economic and social - that we still see all around us.” – US bishops, “Open Wide Our Hearts” Voting helps dismantle institutional racism