Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-8-2020
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Integrated Marketing Communication
First Advisor
Mark Dolan
Second Advisor
Kathryn McKee
Third Advisor
Marvin King
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis lays out Voter ID laws and the effects they have on minorities. A new era of Jim Crow legislation in the 21st century as referred to by the well-respected, civil activist, Al Sharpton, as James Crow Jr., Esquire, creating laws that negatively impact voting. “Fait accompli,” a term used to describe the plight and pressure put upon the minority who are already at a disadvantage because the laws are established to discriminate against them. How can a silenced group change legislation when they cannot access the ballot? I will explore Supreme Court cases such as Yick Wo v. Hopkins and Dred Scott v. Sanford that present a pattern and establish a precedent to allow Voter ID laws. The Shelby v. Holder decision gave the states the power to require voter ID cards, allowing discrimination to continue legally. The preclearance law within the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prevented states with a history of discrimination from controlling the voting process. However, since the Voter ID laws were passed, that section no longer exists. I will interview a citizen who has lived through and witnessed the struggle to vote, but who persisted in exercising their right. The fight continues today as the mindsets of the elected officials and majority party affiliations continue to promote segregation and separation between the powerful and the powerless through ways such as voter ID laws. The position I will take in my thesis is that the Voter ID laws continue to be a form of discrimination preventing the oppressed population from influencing laws that will benefit and empower themselves.
Recommended Citation
Henderson, Samantha, "James Crow Jr., Esquire and Voter Suppression" (2020). Honors Theses. 1477.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1477
Accessibility Status
Searchable text
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.