Tweet
Alabama voters keep Jim Crow language in constitution
by Ugonna Okpalaoka | November 8, 2012 at 8:44 AM
Alabama voters turned down an amendment to the state’s constitution in Tuesday’s elections that would have removed racist language from the document, according to Alabama.com.
Amendment 4 would have voided requirements for poll taxes and separate schools for white and black children. It was the only one out of 11 constitutional amendments that did not pass.
Supporters of the revision argued that the mandates are not a positive reflection on the state. Billy Canary, CEO of Business Council of America, told local news station WSFA that removing the amendment would give Alabama “the type of image that helps us promote ourselves as a state around the nation and around the world.”
But opponents say the amendment would have also eliminated language that guarantees children the right to public education.
Black legislators and the Alabama Education Association believe the amendment would have done more harm than good. They say that since federal law already renders the poll taxes and separate schools invalid, there’s no need for the revision. They also worried it would have put the funding structure for public education in Alabama at risk.
“The defeat of Amendment 4 should send a clear message to Montgomery that the rights of our school children to a public education should stand,” Henry Mabry, executive secretary of the AEA said Tuesday. “Alabama spoke tonight, and the state’s people said they value a public education for our children.”
Amendment 4 was voted against by 61 percent of voters. This is the second time lawmakers have tried to pass legislation removing the racist language from the 1901 Constitution.
Follow Ugonna on Twitter at @ugonnaokpalaoka
by Ugonna Okpalaoka | November 8, 2012 at 8:44 AM
Alabama voters turned down an amendment to the state’s constitution in Tuesday’s elections that would have removed racist language from the document, according to Alabama.com.
Amendment 4 would have voided requirements for poll taxes and separate schools for white and black children. It was the only one out of 11 constitutional amendments that did not pass.
Supporters of the revision argued that the mandates are not a positive reflection on the state. Billy Canary, CEO of Business Council of America, told local news station WSFA that removing the amendment would give Alabama “the type of image that helps us promote ourselves as a state around the nation and around the world.”
But opponents say the amendment would have also eliminated language that guarantees children the right to public education.
Black legislators and the Alabama Education Association believe the amendment would have done more harm than good. They say that since federal law already renders the poll taxes and separate schools invalid, there’s no need for the revision. They also worried it would have put the funding structure for public education in Alabama at risk.
“The defeat of Amendment 4 should send a clear message to Montgomery that the rights of our school children to a public education should stand,” Henry Mabry, executive secretary of the AEA said Tuesday. “Alabama spoke tonight, and the state’s people said they value a public education for our children.”
Amendment 4 was voted against by 61 percent of voters. This is the second time lawmakers have tried to pass legislation removing the racist language from the 1901 Constitution.
Follow Ugonna on Twitter at @ugonnaokpalaoka