Give us the ballot

“First, politics is the process by which we in a democracy create laws from our beliefs. Second, politics is the process of determining who gets how much of the whats, wheres, and hows in five areas: income, education, health care, housing, and justice…
On that bright spring day in 1957, at a time when civil rights activists were focused upon the efficacy of action in the courts, the prayer rooms, and the streets of America, Dr. King pointed the way to the efficacy of action in the voting booths. If we go to the polls to vote, he said, then we can elect people who understand our beliefs—and who will create public policy and practice from that understanding. And the vote gives us power: We have a say in what goes where, and how, in those five essential elements of living.

“Give us the ballot,” he said.”
—
The Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy

“Give Us The Ballot” Introduction,

“A Call To Conscience”, Martin Luther King, Jr.