Throughout this whirlwind semester we have been focused on ableism, disability, and exclusion. It's gotten me thinking how we will only have these kids for a brief time and then eventually they go out into the world.
I feel I have a realistic attitude towards race. I agree with Reid and Knight when they say, "What serves to perpetuate oppression, then, are widespread conceptions and attitudes about race, class, gender, and disability and the attendant ideologies that shape these systems of (dis)advantage". (Reid & Knight, 2006)
As part of my research over this summer I read up on voter suppression. It makes sense that this pattern of segregation that starts in school continues outside the classroom. Since one of the best ways to oppress a people is to take away their voice, I thought it would be a good idea to look at how African Americans have been denied the vote in the past.
Though we are working hard to promote inclusion, discrimination is still prevalent. We will also take a look at how voter suppression manifests itself today.
Mary Cowhey has this to say about voting, "...thousands of people fought for the right to vote for years and...many died in that struggle because the vote is powerful and because exercising it en masse does threaten the status quo." (Cowhey, 2006)
With that, I invite you to travel back in time and see how that right was sometimes based on your ability to pay...
