blacks voting right set to expire in 2007 are you ready...

[djneedle 914]

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN!!!!

We are quickly approaching the 21st Century and I was wondering if anyone out there knew what the significance of the year 2007 is to Black America? Did you know that our right to vote will expire in the year 2007? Seriously! The Voters Rights Act signed in 1965 by Lyndon B. Johnson was just an ACT.

It was not made a law. In 1982 Ronald Reagan amended the Voters Rights Act for only another 25 years. Which means that in the year 2007 we could lose the right to vote!

Does anyone realize that Blacks/African Americans are the only group of people who still require PERMISSION under the United States Constitution to vote?!

In the year 2007 Congress will once again convene to decide whether or not Blacks should retain the right to vote (crazy, but true). In order for this to be passed, 38 states will have to approve an extension.

In my opinion and many others, this is ludicrous! Not only should the extension be approved, but ... this Act must be made a law. Our right to vote should no longer be up for discussion, review and/or evaluation.

We must contact our Congress persons, Senators, Alderpersons, etc., to put a stop to this! As bona fide citizens of the United States, we cannot "drop the ball" on this one!

We have come too far to let government make us take such a huge step backward. So please, let us push forward to continue to build the momentum towards gaining equality. Please pass this onto others, as I am sure that many more individuals are not aware of this.

I urge all of you that are able, to contact those in government that have your vote on this issue. To send Internet mail directly to the President of the United States, the address is: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Mail/html/ MailPresident.html

The address for the Vice President is: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Mail/html/ MailvicePresident.html or

To send a regular e-mail (like this one) to the President, please address it: President@whitehouse.gov OR vicepresident@whitehouse.gov

Write your Congressman, Write your president, write somebody! THIS IS NOT A JOKE. It can actually happen. Let's work together to continue to strive towards equality for all Blacks/African Americans. Once again, we need to have our voices heard in mass.

By now, you must all have heard of the brutal lynching of James Byrd Jr. on June 7th in the town of Jasper, Texas. Because of very limited media coverage, you may or may not be aware that similar crimes have occurred recently in places as close to us as Virginia, and that since this lynching, two "copy-cat" crimes have already taken place as if to start a trend.

If you've been listening to the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" that comes across the radio airways every morning (6:00 -10:00 am) on WHUR (96.3 FM) which comes out of Howard University, you may be aware of recent commentaries by BetTalk host Tavis Smiley.

He has provided information about the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998" which is yet to come before Congress, and about how to contact the chairperson in charge of that committee.

The contact name & number are as follows:
Senator Orin Hatch
(W) 202-224-5225/5251
(FAX) 202-224-9102
(email) senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov

I myself already made that call this morning to voice my opinion about the incident and to impress upon his office that it is imperative to hasten the passage of this particular bill. I urge each and everyone of you to do the same in memory of JAMES BYRD, Jr., whose only crime was the color of his skin. It only took a minute of my time, and the only information they require is the state that you're calling from.

MAKE THIS CALL AND PASS THIS INFORMATION ON.

It is our constitutional right and our moral obligation to make this call a top priority and to pass this information to at least 20 other people. If we each do this electronically, we would have reached at least 400 people within a matter of a couple of minutes. Write the information down and pass it on to those without email access.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! It is important that you contact the congressional representatives for your state on each of these issues.