I don’t take my civil rights and my right to vote for granted. In this current election cycle, I fear that these precious hard-won rights may be in danger as they teeter precariously on the worst instincts of those who seek power at any cost.
Along with other groups, I have experienced legalized discrimination and I know what it can do to the human spirit.
In the upcoming iteration of democracy in action, it’s not just those of us who are the historic and presumed targets of discrimination who are at risk: It is all of us who are shocked and dismayed by the overt acts of those who want to turn back time in their vision for the nation.
We must not be distracted by the noise created by the theater and drama of the political process. We must keep the goal of an inclusive, multiracial citizenry with hard-won rights in our sights as we vote and encourage others to vote for those with a record of enacting policies that align with our basic human values.
Gwen Dungy 