American democracy is at stake

There are some dates that mark crucial milestones in a nation’s history:

July 4th, 1776: Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain.

January 1, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed freedom for slaves in areas still in rebellion against the Union.

April 4, 1968: The Rev. Martin Luther King, the most prominent civil rights leader, was assassinated, leading to widespread social unrest. 

August 9, 1974: – Richard Nixon became the only U.S. president to resign from office after facing likely impeachment for his role in covering up the scandal surrounding the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington D.C.  in June 1972 

September 11, 2001: Islamist terrorist crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the Pennsylvania countryside, resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. The coordinated suicide attacks by the Al Qaeda terror group prompted the U.S. to embark on a “war on terror,” including an invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

November 4, 2008: Barack Obama was elected the first African American president of the United States.

This is an incomplete and subjective list of some defining events in U.S. history since the country’s inception. There are, of course, many others. There are some moments and movements that are decade and even generation-defining events that mark the nation’s progress towards freedom and justice, while others mark a backlash. 

Backlash often comes after there is real social progress or the perception that once marginalized groups are becoming too powerful. Fueled by their fear, the reactionaries strike out, using deceit and violence to cling to power.   

January 6, 2021, marks a backlash against democracy. 

On this day, President Donald Trump and other prominent Republican lawmakers incited a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn an election. A record voter turnout led Democrat Joe Biden to soundly defeat Trump whose campaign and presidency was grounded in racism and anti-immigrant rhetoric. But Trump and his loyalists attempted to intimidate lawmakers and election officials in battleground states, as well as Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress to overturn the election by citing false claims of widespread voter fraud.

Many of these Trump loyalists and election deniers have won Republican primaries and are running for governor, congress and other offices. 

June 24, 2022 is another defining day in U.S. history. This day marks the U.S. Supreme Court ‘s decision to abolish the constitutional right to abortion that is supported by the majority of the country’s population.

The 6-3 decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is now effective. Abortion is now or will be immediately illegal in at least 21 states.

In states where abortion is now or will soon become illegal, there is often no exception to abortion bans including if the individual is a child or was impregnated through rape or incest. As a result, many women may die in botched unregulated or self-inflicted operations.  Doctors who perform abortions or prescribe medication to terminate pregnancies will be sent to prison.

The ultra-conservative high court is unlikely to stop there.

In his separate opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s most senior member, on Friday called on overturning the constitutional rights the court had affirmed for access to contraceptives and same-sex marriage.

The three members of the court’s liberal wing – Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor said the court’s conservative majority willingness to overturn the landmark decades-old Roe v. Wade decision leaves other precedents vulnerable.

The Supreme Court decision is about more than just a woman’s right to an abortion. As the liberal justices wrote in their opposing opinion, Roe “does not stand alone. To the contrary, the Court has linked it for decades to other settled freedoms involving bodily integrity, familiar relationships and procreation.” 

Congress can override the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion and pass a law to legalize abortion in the United States. President Biden could then sign a law codifying Roe v, Wade. 

Congress can also approve laws already passed in the Democratic-controlled House to protect abortion rights, voting rights, prohibit the sale of military-style assault weapons and other common sense gun control measures, approve police reforms that protect citizens from police brutality and excessive force and other important critical legislation.  

To do this, voters need to elect more Democratic Senators and hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. With just 50 members and a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Democrats have the power to confirm executive and judicial nominees and launch investigations. But a rule requiring votes from 60 of the Senate’s 100 members makes passing sweeping legislation difficult. 

While I push for more Democrats to win office to oppose a regressive political platform, this does not mean that I think the Democrats are perfect. They are far from it. 

But the reality is that Democrats are the strongest political power right now to counter a Republican Party that is now dominated by far-right extremists who are bent on passing laws that restrict the rights of Blacks, women, gays, immigrants and other groups.

Once elected to a greater majority, voters must demand that Democrats be assertive in defending their rights and pushing for change.  Follow the example of Republican voters who oust elected officials who fail to push their agenda.  

It is important to remember that the far-right extremists are not the majority. They are just louder and more aggressive while claiming victimhood. 

They only win if American voters become complacent and apathetic. More need to register to vote and those registered need to turn out on election day. 

In the upcoming midterms and beyond, American voters who cherish freedom, justice and equality need to vote in record numbers like they did in the 2020 presidential election. They need to vote like democracy is at stake, because it is.

Irv Randolph is the managing editor of the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest continuously published African American newspaper in the nation and co-founder of The Randolph Report, a newsletter on politics, culture and career and professional news relevant to Black Americans.