Go Vote

Today, I was reading Jason Jules’ Black Ivy, a book on how African Americans took the preppy, Ivy league style and made it their own. One of the stories was about about James Meredith, a civil rights activist and writer.

The civil rights leaders at the time knew that the key to racial equality was through leveraging the African American vote. In 1966, James Meredith made it his goal to walk across Mississippi to encourage black voters to register.

No stranger to activism, Meredith was the first African American student admitted to the University of Mississippi. He admission sparked a riot where he received multiple death threats. The JFK administration intervened and sent 31,000 guards to restore order.

On the second day of his walk, he was shot multiple times. Meredith’s incident sparked civil rights leaders to take action and 15000 marched on behalf of Meredith leading to thousands of African American voters.

Reading Meredith’s story is a reminder that voting is a privilege, a privilege that many before us have fought for, and a privilege that many around the world would die for.

I love America. I believe in the American dream. I know so many others that moved here from other countries with hopes and dreams. And while I’m not a US citizen yet, I one day hope to participate in this process as a citizen of this country.

If you can, go vote.

Let your voice be heard.