This African American history month, as the nation approaches one of its most important elections, is a good time to remember the great significance, both past and present, of the Black vote. Without the African American component of the anti-Bush vote it will not be possible to defeat the administration and the ultra-right Republican domination of Congress or change the Supreme Court. The whole fight for democracy and economic and social justice cannot be advanced apart from a strong showing of African American voters.

In 2000, African Americans accounted for about 10 million votes or 10 percent of the electorate. Most impressive was the fact that while 84 percent of African Americans came out for Clinton in 1996, 90 percent cast their ballots for Gore in 2000. For African American women voters it was 94 percent. African Americans constituted 18.9 percent of Gore’s total. Combined with the Latino voters, the figure comes to 28 percent. Black people voted nearly unanimously against Bush. In fact, African Americans voted at higher rate against the Republican standard-bearer than any other group. This history-making vote was motivated primarily by a strong dislike of Bush and his policies.
Bush is president because of the suppression of the Black vote.

It is within this framework, that one must examine the theft of the presidency and come to grips with the fact that the 2000 election was marked by an incredible attack on the Black vote. It involved fraud, intimidation and conspiracy especially, but not exclusively, in Florida. These tactics included preventing voters from getting to the polls, purging tens of thousands from voter lists and using bad voting machines in mainly non-white Democratic districts in violation of the Voting Rights Act. These activities can only be understood as an organized racist campaign designed to reduce dramatically the number of African American votes against Bush.

There is no question that had it not been for the racist voter fraud campaign of the Jeb Bush administration in Florida, the Republican vote would never have been close enough to create conditions that allowed the Supreme Court to carry out its judicial coup. Bush is president because of the suppression of the Black vote.

Unfortunately, this pattern of suppression is not new. Indeed, one of the most shameful features of US capitalism throughout its history is the continual effort of the ruling class to deny African Americans their full rights of citizenship and in a special way their right to vote – their right to have a say in the affairs of government.

An honest assessment of the nation’s history as far as the African American people are concerned shows a shameful and consistent pattern of racial oppression. This is a system of racist oppression rooted in US slavery, which continues to deny African Americans their rights, including the right to vote. Even with the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, Black suffrage has been consistently suppressed.

From the founding of the country, slaves could not vote, and with the first writing of the constitution were considered only three-fifths of a human being when it came to determining how much representation would be given to the southern slaveholders. The framers of the Constitution with all their great principals nevertheless agreed to slavery, the disenfranchisement of Blacks, Native American Indians, women and those without property.

After four years of bloody civil war the Confederacy was militarily defeated. Only the presence of Union troops guaranteed the newly freed slaves the right to exercise their franchise. While it was by no means a fully democratic system, when free elections were held, for the first time former slaves voted and were elected to public office up to and including Congress. Those newly elected African American legislators along with white anti-slavery allies were in the vanguard of those pushing the most advanced democratic legislation of the time. They led the way on universal male suffrage, equality of civil rights, establishing a system of public education, granting new rights to women, among them the right to hold property and the right of divorce. They abolished all kinds of Jim Crow practices and discrimination against Jews. They eliminated debtor’s prison, the use of the whipping post and stocks and property ownership as a qualification for voting.

The overthrow of slavery was revolutionary. The relations of production for millions of slaves and non-slaves changed as a result. It opened the way for a modern economic and technological development, making possible the unification of the US nation and economy as a whole.

With the Hayes/Tilden sellout of 1877, which meant the withdrawal of Union soldiers from the South, the great experiment in anti-racist democracy that was Reconstruction was destroyed, basically by Klan violence. Black elected officials were removed from legislative bodies. In some cases they were beaten and lynched. Racist terror ruled the South again. The right of Blacks to vote was again denied and drowned in blood.
Today’s Republicans are determined to weaken, divide and destroy the Black vote because it is a major obstacle to carrying out their ultra-right program.

It took a century to overcome this betrayal of Reconstruction, and out of this great struggle for freedom the African American people have learned to use their vote, at times deploying very sophisticated tactics. They have overcome great odds and while the battle for equality is far from won, the struggle advanced to where they are a powerful progressive/democratic voting block, able to affect decisively the outcome of national elections. This great accomplishment must be acknowledged and not belittled or taken for granted, if today’s challenges are to be met. This struggle was not done alone but in unity with labor and other allies. Broad alliances have been built along the way.

Thus, what happened in Florida in 2000 and since should be a wake-up call for all progressives that the fight to defend democracy cannot be won if the right to vote is not defended. Today’s Republicans are determined to weaken, divide and destroy the Black vote because it is a major obstacle to carrying out their ultra-right program.

It should not be forgotten that the legacy of Florida continues unabated. Unscrupulous tactics are being utilized to achieve this goal. The attacks on Cynthia McKinney and Earl Hilliard are examples. In both cases, Black Republicans were put up to run against progressive Democrats in states allowing crossover primary voting. In states controlled by Republicans, they are redistricting congressional districts so that more Republican conservative racists will replace Black and Latino Democrats. The intense battle over redistricting in Texas is now in the courts.

Another tactic is putting up wealthy so-called “moderate Republicans” against weak unpopular center-right liberal Democrats in the hope of weakening Black voters. Once elected these fake moderates become loyal supporters of Bush and the Republican program. New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor Pataki followed this trend. The Republican right is also working with fake Black progressives like Lenora Fulani who really work hand-in-glove with Republicans.

Yet another tried and tested device is the use of Black accommodationists like Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice who are conscious instruments of racist Republican policy. Black faces in high places spouting the administration’s policies cannot be considered progressive. Like Booker T. Washington, they are there to cover up racism not eliminate it.

Suppressing the Black vote is also achieved by disenfranchising incarcerated Black men. While only 12 percent of the population is Black, half of the two million people in prison are African American men. This figure is 10 times its size 30 years ago. In addition, the right wing has led the way in taking the vote from convicted felons. This has meant that 4.5 million people can’t vote: over 2.5 million of them are Black. Forced outside the political process they suffer what is called “civic death.”

In a throwback to the original debate on the Constitution, these prisoners can’t vote but are counted as part of the population when it comes to determining political representation and the allocation of federal funds. This occurs in predominately white rural areas. Ironically these areas elected conservative Republicans who oppose progressive social spending but are totally subservient to the prison-industrial complex.

While the ultra right is conscious of Black voters, unfortunately many on the left, including sections of the Black left, still do not see the great strides made by Black people in the fight for democracy over the centuries. As a result, they fail to understand the necessity to defend the right to vote and join with the broad masses of African Americans in the current struggle to defeat Bush. In that sense, they are out of step with the current struggle of the African American people. This fight is bigger than Democrats versus Republicans and should not be reduced to that elementary equation: fundamentally it is a fight for democracy.

The Republican Party – as imperfect as it was – was the main electoral vehicle African Americans used to fight against slavery during that period. Today, the broad masses of African Americans and most working people are using the Democratic Party (as imperfect as that is) as their main electoral vehicle because the party of new slavery – the Republicans – cannot be stopped otherwise. They understand the Republicans must be stopped before we can go forward.

This highly sophisticated voting tactic is rooted in a conscious anti-racist understanding but is also a product of the overwhelmingly working-class composition of Black people. They are among the most conscious voters because they skillfully unite the class and national question in their struggle for survival and advancement. For example, since the 1964 Voting Rights Act Black representation has grown substantially. The Congressional Black Caucus has grown, but Black voters do not just vote for other Blacks. They have shown an understanding of the basic class issues and most of the time will reject a right-wing candidate be they Black, Brown or white. They will elect a white or Latino over an African American if the African American is weak on the issues.

Some honest conclusions need to be drawn. If Bush had not stolen the 2000 election, it is probable, based on Gore’s present positions and the growing opposition from Democrats today, the whole package of post-9/11 policies would likely have been avoided. In fact, based on new facts now emerging, the terrorist attacks may have been avoided. This administration has taken our country much further to the right then it was under the previous administration, as imperfect as it was.

The dots must be connected. Once again we learn a hard lesson. Unity of the left and center is key to victory and cannot be taken for granted. Together, Nader and Gore received 52 percent of the popular vote. This percentage is a fairly accurate assessment of where the people of the US are at politically. Yet Bush won because of disunity between the left and the center and dirty tricks. Where was the left in the 2000 election? Most of the left voted with 62 percent of labor, 90 percent of African Americans and 62 percent Latinos. But too many were mere observers of this crucial election struggle, out of touch or resorted to Democratic Party baiting.

The times call for connecting the dots and drawing new lessons. The left must end its isolation. The Black left must end its isolation from the broad mass upsurge of Black people and find the way to build principled unity in struggle.

Without racism Bush could not have become president. Racism as directed against African Americans and other people of color domestically was decisive in bringing about the severe attack on the rights and well being of the vast majority of the people. It set the stage for this brutal war against the people of Iraq and led to a new destabilization of world we live in.

All people of good will who believe in democracy and real freedom must build greater unity and step up the effort to help everyone understand that racism is a grave threat to their lives and their survival. Racism kills. It is a weapon of mass destruction.

When Al Gore broke a precedent and made an early endorsement of Howard Dean, it was not accident that he chose to do it in Harlem.

Voter registration and education activities are unfolding across the country mainly by civil rights, labor, women's, youth, students and prominent figures in the entertainment industry. The hip hop community is organizing to especially bring out a large anti-Bush youth vote.

The labor movement is committing substantial resources to guarantee a large turn out of union families, African American and Latino voters. African American workers through organizations like Coalition of Black Trade Unionist and the NAACP are playing a leading role in this fight. This is no time to de-emphasize or under funding these special approaches to racially oppressed working families. It has been working-class Blacks and Latinos who have continually been the target of the sharpest attacks because they have also been the driving force in the fight against racism, war and injustice.

On November 2 African Americans and labor, Latinos, women, immigrants, youth and seniors, will continue their historic drive towards freedom by scoring an great victory for peace, economic and social justice. Defeating Bush and the ultra-right Congressional majority will require a lot of hard work but it can be done. All progressive have a responsibility to help make this happen.

--Jarvis Tyner is a Vice Chair of the Communist Party USA.