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By 21 years old, Frederick Douglass declared himself free, sailed to New Bedford, Massechuttsets, paid the $1.50 poll tax and voted for the first time. He voted again the following year, 1841. Douglass served in Abraham Lincolns cabinet and joined with women suffragettes demanding the right to vote.

Like so many born into slavery, Douglass did not know his birthday. He chose Feb. 14 as his birthday. Over 100 years after his birthday, the League of Women Voters became a national organization. The right to vote drove both.

The right to vote wasnt a right for all. From 1865 to 1868, Reconstruction allowed Black men to work, vote, run for office and enjoy the rights of white men. The white supremacy groups arose. Thousands were killed or intimated for trying to vote in spite of the 15th Amendment (1870), which nationalized Black mens right to vote. States used many creative, even violent methods to restrict access to the polls. Poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses shut Black men out. In 1868, Louisiana white Democrats killed over a 1,000 Black men and white Republicans. 1874, white people drove away a thousand Black Alabama men trying to vote. The white residents of Barbour County circulated rumors of an invasion, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. They rioted, killing seven men, injuring 70, and were just one of many groups in multiple states who scared off Black voters.

Meanwhile in some states, a few women could vote. They had to pass mental competency, age and residency tests. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, came with its own troubled existence. Sojourner Truth separated herself from the women suffragettes when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony denounced the right of Black men to vote before women had the right. When Southern Senator Ellison Smith resisted the 19th Amendment because it would give the other half of the Negro race the right to vote, suffragette Carrie Chapman Catt pointed out that white supremacy could be restored. She argued tragically that white women were under Black men at the moment, and the right to vote would make them equals.

When the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, the right to vote remained barred for many. Black women in Savannah, Georgia were turned away en masse that year because the state said they had to register a full six months before election. In 1924, many Native American should have been able to vote, having been recognized as citizens finally. Many states prevented their votes by labeling them wards of the state. Because of the Alien Exclusion Act of 1900, Asian-Americans could not naturalize. Finally in 1943, they were legally able to vote.

Until 1965, localities limited voting with every creative tactic they could muster. In 1961, Junius Edward published Liars Dont Qualify to show how good ol boys frustrated Black veterans. Four years later the Voting Rights Act outlawed sneaky tactics. They obstructed Black World War II veterans, such as Maceo Snipes and Medgar Evers. Snipes was lynched in Taylor County, Georgia, in 1946. Evers was murdered in his home in 1963.

From 1965 to the present, the ability to vote freely remains fickle. Its fragility returned in 2013 when Congress and the Supreme Court invalidated key portions. A process that began in Indiana in 2006 has begun to steamroll the ability to vote freely and fairly.

For this reason, the League of Women Voters, among others, supports the For the People Act (HR 1, S.1) which passed in 2019 in the House by a significant bipartisan margin. Its one of the most transformative laws to be on the docket this year.

The For the People Act reduces barriers to voting, controls gerrymandering and changes campaign financing. It allows for automatic voter registration when citizens obtain a drivers license, expands early voting, allows for voting by mail for any reason, improves paper balloting and other election security. It normalizes provisional ballot requirements across the nation. In other words, it improves registration and voting access for everyone. It requires independent commissions in all 50 states for redistricting. Currently only 13 states rely on such commissions exclusively for redistricting. 8 other states use them for help in the process. Finally, H.R. 1/S.1 multiples the power of small donors so that big money is not the loudest voice clamoring for political attention.

A great way to honor the birthdays of Douglass and the League is to let our Congress people know we want them to pass the For the People Act into law.

The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan, multi-issue organization encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase public understanding of major policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. All men and women are invited to join the LWV where hands-on work to safeguard democracy leads to civic improvement. For information, visit the website http://www.lwvmontcoin.org or the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, IN Facebook page.

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For the love of democracy - Journal Review

Jocelyn Benson, a Peters Township native and Michigans top elections official, was on the receiving end of plenty of vitriol in 2020, including from President Trump, who called her a rogue secretary of state on Twitter.

Trumps accusation that Michigan was sending out millions of absentee ballots was not true it was sending out applications for ballots but it was just one of many morsels of misinformation that swirled around in the months leading up the November election and after.

How did Benson deal with being the object of so much bile? While participating in Washington & Jefferson Colleges Symposium on Democracy Wednesday, Benson said she would look at a photo of herself and other secretaries of state on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., where John Lewis and other civil rights activists were beaten by police in 1965, and recognize that protecting our democracy has sometimes engendered violence.

I was on the receiving end of a lot of violent and hateful rhetoric throughout the year, Benson said. But, she added, They werent attacking me. They were attacking voters. They were attacking democracy.

The attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the rise of domestic terrorism tied to white supremacist groups, the movement to protect democratic freedoms in Hong Kong and human rights in the digital age were among the topics up for discussion in this years Symposium on Democracy, which has become a fixture on the W&J campus every February since 2018. Unlike past years, this time around it took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with Benson, other guests were Adrian Shahbaz, director of technology and democracy at Freedom House, the nonprofit that advocates for democracy around the world; Pat Benic, a United Press International photographer and W&J graduate who witnessed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6; Kathleen Belew, an assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago and an authority on the modern white power movement; and Nathan Law, a Yale Univeristy graduate student and Hong Kong democracy activist.

In a recorded message at the beginning of the symposium, Gov. Tom Wolf said, Government by the people has never been easy, and the last year is a reminder of that.

Benson explained that, despite the sound and fury leading up to the election, and the tumult that followed it, the 2020 vote was the most secure in the nations history. In Michigan, voter participation topped the record set in 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected president, and this happened amid a once-in-a-century pandemic. In the elections aftermath, Benson has proposed making Election Day in Michigan a state holiday so more people have the opportunity to do volunteer work at polling places, guns be prohibited within 100 feet of polling places, and other reforms.

Freedom and security need not collide, Benson said.

Meanwhile, Belew outlined how the white power movement has changed over the last 40 years or so, and how the pandemic and social media have worked hand-in-hand over the last year.

Social media has been the primary mode of socialization for everyone, so we see that it has the power to radicalize that is bigger and more powerful than before, Belew said.

At the conclusion of the symposium, John C. Knapp, the president of W&J, said the issues discussed on Wednesday deserve our urgent attention as responsible members of a democratic society.

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W&J symposium explores issues affecting democracy here and abroad - Observer-Reporter

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Published: 18 February 2021

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, The San Diego Voice & ViewpointWhen we look at the diversity of the people who attacked the capitol on January 6, most of us are surprised to find that at least 57 of those assaulting the building were elected officials in their home states and cities. These are people who have lived, worked and participated in Democracy as we know it. These people and the thousands of others who join them, refuse to acknowledge an election run and won according to our own constitutional mandates. These people and the White Nationalist who believe that America only belongs to its White citizens, who live and have lived according to White Privilege ignoring the words of the Declaration of Independence which says:

We hold these truths to be self evident, that all menAre created equal, that they are endowed by theirCreator with certain unalienable rights, that amongThese are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.That to secure these rights governments are estab-Lished among men, deriving their just powers fromThe consent of the governed.

It appears that a growing number of Amercans believe that the words of this document only apply to them in terms of the idea of being equal. It appears that many of our White citizens who are the far right extremists who follow Donald Trump believe the inscription written on the barnyard door in the novel, Animal Farm. The fictitious account of animals taking over and running the farm carries an example of the pigs taking over and exercising more power and influence than the other animals. When questioned about this usurpation of power, the pigs wrote the following words on the barnyard door:

All animals are equal, but some animals are moreEqual than others.

Clearly the concept of Democracy has become too inclusive in America. The idea of equality now includes too many Black, Brown, Asian and other immigrant groups. Those rising to the levels of elected leadership come from these groups. Power is no longer all White in America, and White people who have a universal history of taking what they want from others rather than sharing, now feel that violence is necessary because government as they intended it is now serving those who were intended to serve them (whites).

Democracy was intended to acknowledge that all men are created equal and not that some are more equal than others.

African Americans need to pay particular attention to these issues because we are the ones being most affected at every turn by this War on Equality. This is a war that never let up, even after the passage of the 13, 14, and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. We must now come together, as others have done and are doing, if we are to survive. America no longer has the moral compass that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew. We have the knowledge and tools to win this battle. The only thing in our way is us.

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Democracy and White Privilege - The Skanner

Neumann-Goretti senior Omoiye Jordan controls the ball during a recent game against Conwell-Egan. Photo/Mark Zimmaro

Omoiye Jordan isnt all talk.

As a vocal leader of the Neumann-Goretti High School girls basketball team, Jordans actions are both heard by her teammates and followed on the court. But Jordan goes a step further when it comes to school and standing up for things she believes in.

After witnessing a summer of racial tension unfold across the country, Jordan took a stand when she noticed similar things were happening in her own life. She began building the groundwork for a black student forum at her school.

After everything hit during quarantine and police brutality was happening, there was a lot of insensitivity going on in my school, Jordan said. And I felt people need to be more educated about racial situations like that and I thought this would help. I wanted to bring in speakers to the school to talk to students and teachers about it, hoping problems would come to an end.

The process of forming an official forum has been slowed during the pandemic, but Jordan isnt giving up, even if it happens after she graduates in the spring.

With COVID and everything, the administration at school was having a struggle with it, Jordan said. But they are talking to me about starting it next year for the underclassmen. There have been some Zoom meetings so far with parents on the topic, helping them know what to say to their kids. I dont know exactly how many people attend but it started happening and it wasnt happening before. So its a step in the right direction.

Its that type of bravery and persistence that has earned her teammates and coaches respect both on and off the court. Jordan is seen as one of the Saints leaders as the team once again competes in the tough Philadelphia Catholic League Red Division, and shes pretty good at putting the ball in the basket, too. Jordan has both an inside and outside presence with the ability to grab big rebounds or knock down a crucial 3-pointer when her team needs it. Saints coach Andrea Peterson says Jordan checks a lot of boxes, especially when it comes to leadership.

Shes fantastic, Peterson said. She leads this crew and wants to do a lot of things off the court and lead movements. Omoiye is the one that takes the lead on a lot of stuff, and people respect her for that and I think its going to bring awareness to a lot of things. And on the court, even if she struggles scoring, she finds a way to play harder on defense to find her stride.

The Saints had a tough start to the season, as they were able to participate in full-contact practices only a handful of times before starting the season against perennial powerhouses Cardinal OHara and Archbishop Wood, which resulted in an 0-2 start. Since then, Neumann-Goretti has rebounded with wins over Bonner-Prendergast and Conwell-Egan before taking a tough loss to Archbishop Carroll over the weekend.

Were still trying to figure it out, Peterson said. Its not a sprint, its a marathon. Weve had limited practice, but as long as we stay together, well hit our stride. If we can dig deep a little bit, were going to be really, really good.

Jordan says her team is rounding into form.

We started off a little slow, Jordan said. But weve been able to pick it up and get in a rhythm because we rely on each other more instead of relying on one person to win the game for us like last year.

Preparation wasnt easy. When teams werent allowed to practice due to COVID restrictions, Jordan helped unite her team with workouts whenever possible, even if it meant just keeping in contact.

We try to call each other or text each other for open runs if they were available, or get into the gym when we can, so thats been helpful, but it was way better being able to actually practice again, she said.

Jordan says shes undecided on where she plans to attend college next year but hopes basketball is in her future. Right now, shes just thankful that there is indeed a high school basketball season after some doubt lingered surrounding the pandemic.

I was really disappointed at the beginning of the season because it wasnt looking good, Jordan said. But I was really glad our coach was able to tell us that we were going to play and finish out my senior year with an actual season.

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Jordan a leader on and off the court - South Philly Review

The YouTube of today is a vastly different platform from the YouTube of yesteryear. Once characterized by cheesy, poorly-filmed comedy skits and the dominating presence of Vevo, it was a mecca of low-brow humor and cat videos. YouTubes audience, however, has matured, and so has its content.

The video essay is taking over YouTube as a primary form of content on the platform. YouTubers with niche knowledge and impeccable production value are becoming major stars. These YouTubers are smart they have high level knowledge about topics from critical theory to historical dress and they perform for the camera in a manner that is entertaining, educational and far-reaching. Many viewers are flocking to YouTube, not just to laugh, but to learn and the best creators offer both.

The video essays I will discuss in this column are nothing short of works of art. They often combine musical score, high fashion and makeup alongside performance and narrative, with sturdy cultural critique and analysis that is both complex and easily digestible. And, perhaps most importantly, they are a hoot to watch.

***

You cant talk about YouTube video essays without mentioning ContraPoints, also known as Natalie Wynn. She is one of the pioneers of this digital movement toward video essays, and her videos, perhaps best described as films, present some of the highest art, critical analysis, skilled performance and humor that the platform has to offer. Wynn delivers all of this surrounded by elaborate sets and beautiful score, while wearing full drag, tipping a 40 oz. to the head and engaging her own hilariously on-the-nose characters through dialogue, a la Plato. If anyone can be described as the intellectual figure of this generation, its ContraPoints.

Wynn might be described by some as a classically trained academic. She studied piano at Berklee College of Music and received a bachelors degree in philosophy from Georgetown. She then attended Northwestern to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy.

But this is where Wynns career diverged from the traditional academic. She dropped out of the Ph.D. program at Northwestern, saying to Vice News, The idea of being an academic for the rest of my life became boring to the point of existential despair.

Wynn plays an important role in the contemporary intellectual community she is no modern liberal. ContraPoints, rather, is a radical leftist. But while many modern left-liberal movements have condemned discourse with the other side, ContraPoints has embraced it. She doesnt shy away from engaging with the arguments of incels, the alt-right, TERFs and public intellectuals such as Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson (whose visage she hilariously flirts with in a bathtub).

This is where Wynns academic training combined with her high emotional intelligence make her a powerful public presence. Shes been credited with converting many young alt-right leaning men away from dangerous racist, sexist, transphobic rhetoric. If youve ever argued with an alt-righter or Trumpist, you might be wondering, how the f*** does she do it?

Wynn herself says, Its not just about calling someone out and using logic, because there are emotional and psychological reasons that people hold their political convictions. From a psychological standpoint, you have to empathetically enter a persons world; not just why do they think what they think, but why do they feel what they feel? Repeat that back to them and you can really gain traction.

Indeed, her critiques are always based on charitable interpretations of the arguments that she addresses, and her combination of philosophical argumentation and sociology has proved to be powerfully effective. For many, its difficult to explain to someone why white supremacy is wrong, they just know that it is. But ContraPoints can do it. Her video on the alt right breaks down both the factual incorrectness and negative ethical value of common, normalized white supremacist arguments. She takes the alt-rights very own arguments and talking points and breaks them down in a clear, charitable and thorough way that makes her critique nearly impossible to dispute. She puts words to concepts that, for many, have been impossible to describe. And she does so in a way that reaches people on every side of every aisle.

Contras content isnt just devoted to changing the opinions of alt-righters. She also makes video essays that critique and analyze cultural phenomena (such as cringe, beauty, cancelling and degeneracy) with the double-edged sword of philosophical breakdown and extreme drag looks. These videos are fun, but so solid in their argumentation that I was able to use The Darkness as a source for my philosophy capstone paper; they have true academic utility. Within these films, she discusses each topic as it pertains to gender, sexuality, behavior, personal beliefs and more. She works out meaningful and thorough descriptions for these topics that provide exquisite foundations for her analysis. She, critically, has perfected the fine art of meaningfully differentiating between expedient political rhetoric such as trans people are born in the wrong bodies (phrasing which is not philosophically nuanced, nor true to every trans persons experience, but is critical to the acquisition of rights for trans people) and more complex metaphysical discussion about gender, sex and orientation which many modern academics shy away from.

What puts ContraPoints a step above the rest is her bold, critical and unapologetic nature. Shes not nice. She doesnt cater to anyone or anything, left or right. Shes not afraid to say, I am an evangelical transsexual. I dont want toleration, damn it. I want converts, and she certainly doesnt care whether you think she means it or not. She pursues whats true, whats expedient and whats hilarious. And she does it all while dressed as a sexy catgirl.

Natalie Wynns work is of the highest art, but dont just believe me, check it out for yourself. Did I mention shes funny?

Contact Rachel DAgui at rdagui at stanford.edu.

The rest is here:
The Rise of the Video Essay as Art: ContraPoints - The Stanford Daily