The Omaha guide., 1944-09-02
BALLOT IS
Y 0 U R
N 0 S 7
POWERFUL
WEAPON.
(BY EARL BROWN
for Continental Features

AhC hlOot POWCl lui WSdpOH, We, dS
Negro citizens, possess with which to
fight for our rights are our ballots.
That this is so clearly indicated by
the extreme efforts both the Repub-
lican and Democratic parties are max
ing to win majority Of them on
election day, November Z. For the
politicians know better than anyone
else that our votes may be the decid
ing ones come November Z. 1t is,
indeed, possible, that they will deter
mine who will occupy the White
House for the next four years =
Roosevelt or Dewey.
To possess something, however, and
not use it for your own and others
benefit is worse than not to possess
it at ali. And this is the situation
with thousands Of Negro voters -
they can vote, if they want to, but
they are too indifferent to register
and later cast their ballots. These
s1ackers not only harm themselves by
failing to register and vote, but they
also hurt their whole race. They are
useless as company of soldiers a
sleep at the front with their rifles
full of bullets and the enemy shoot
ing at them.
There are approximately two mil
lion Negro voters living above the
Mason-Dixon line and thousands
more below it. Yet, in no election
up to now have more than about fifty
percent of them voted. Usually the
percentage is much less.
Though the Democrats, Republicans
and other political organizations such
as the CIO Political Action Commit
tee, are active in getting both colored
and white people to register so they
can vote on election day, the response
bility of registering and voting rests
primarily upon the voters themselves.
No one should depend upon another
person. to remind him or assist him in
exercising his sovereign power-to
vote-if he knows how to go about
doing it. This is particularly true OF
the Negro voters this year, because
they have more at stake in this cleo
tion than ever before.
AS a matter of fact, our future de-
pends upon the men elected to office
this year more than in any election
since 1860, when Lincoln's election
sounded the end of slavery in Amer
lea. And it must be remembered that
there are men running for office this
time on both the Republican and Dem
ocratic tickets who are as unalterably
opposed to the things we stand for and
the things We know we must have, if
we are to become completely integral
ed into this nation, as the men who
championed slavery in 1860.
Though we have made some gains
during the war, we must protect them
and fight for more and more. If we
did otherwise, we would not be wor-
thy of the things we demand and
hrigftufly deserve as citizens of the
u. S. For example, we must work
and fight for the welfare, protection
and security of the three-quarters of
million colored men and women in
the armed services, especially when
they return from battle. We must
fight to keep the jobs we have gained
in private industry; and must fight
to see that we get better and more
housing, more educational opportunit-
les, and better health provisions. In
truth, we must fight for all the
things that will make us and other
American citizens economically Sc
cure and culturally better off iii a
thousand ways.
The most effective way for us TO
fight is backing the candidates for Of
fice-any and all offices-whom we
believe will work to help put over the
things we are fighting for. Forum
ately, there are men and women runn-
ing for office who will plump for the
thgins we want and need.
We must help elect to Congress and
to state offices the men and women
who are our friends and who will
sponsor and work for the kind of leg
islation-the kind of democracy-we
are guaranteed by the Constitution
but have never been able to enjoy
But the kind of men and women we
want to see in office cannot win, I'm
less we register and vote for them
1t is easy for anyone to find out
how to register and vote, if he does
Mt know how. Almost any schoo
teacher, lawyer, preacher, Urban Lea
que secretary OF NAACP president
if there is one in your city, will bt
algd to tell anybody how to GO abou
it. All one has to do is to ask either
one of them. OF course, you may