Anderson@Large

Connecting the Dots

Pennsylvania’s Day of Infamy

Forty-seven years ago today, civil rights activists were beaten by Alabama state troopers as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their march from Selma to Montgomery.

The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to mark this seminal date in voting rights history by passing HB 934, a voter suppression bill that will require voters to show government-issued photo ID in order to vote.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Hughes wrote:

Under the guise of preventing voter fraud, this bill would actually disenfranchise many elderly and minority voters. It would suppress the right to vote for many Pennsylvanians by essentially making it harder to vote for individuals who do not have a photo ID.

Many individuals do not have a photo ID because of the cost. Some elderly have stated that they do not have the proper documentation needed to obtain a photo ID.

During a conference call with reporters, state Sen. Daylin Leach blasted Republican claims of voter impersonation:

If I am wrong about any of those pieces of information, I am going to get busted for doing this and face federal prosecution with potentially years in prison. What do I gain? I gain one vote in an election.

Had enough? Then be part of the solution and make a pledge to help fund development of the Cost of Freedom Voter ID App.

UPDATE: The Pennsylvania Senate passed HB 934 by a vote of 26-23. The struggle continues.

Happy Valentine's Day

If you love democracy, please view the livestream of a panel discussion on social media and voter ID TODAY from 3pm to 5pm EST. I will demo the Cost of Freedom App. You can join the conversation via Twitter using the hashtag #CAPVoterID.

For info about the Cost of Freedom Project, visit us at Facebook.com/CostofFreedom.

Black in America, by the Numbers

Today is Day One of Black History Month. It’s 28+1 days because of leap year. Still, it’s the shortest month.

The Census Bureau’s portrait of blacks in America, by the numbers.

Population

42 million
The number of people who identified as black, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, in the 2010 Census. They made up 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population. The black population grew by 15.4 percent from 2000 to 2010.

65.7 million
The projected black population of the United States (including those of more than one race) for July 1, 2050. On that date, according to the projection, blacks would constitute 15 percent of the nation’s total population.

As I get ready to demo the Cost of Freedom App during a panel discussion on social media and voter ID, these numbers are of particular interest

Voting

11.1 million
The number of blacks who voted in the 2010 congressional election, an increase from 11 percent of the total electorate in 2006 to 12 percent in 2010.

55%
Turnout rate in the 2008 presidential election for the 18- to 24-year-old citizen black population, an 8 percentage point increase from 2004. Blacks had the highest turnout rate in this age group.

65%
Turnout rate among black citizens regardless of age in the 2008 presidential election, up about 5 percentage points from 2004. Looking at voter turnout by race and Hispanic origin, non-Hispanic whites and blacks had the highest turnout levels.

Read more: Black (African-American) History Month: February 2012

Who Voted in 2010

As day follows night, black voters are blamed when Democrats lose an election. The 2010 midterm election was no exception.

Election after election, reports show African Americans turn out on Election Day. Democrats’ problem is with white Democrats who don’t show up or white independent voters who abandon them as they did in 2010.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports African Americans increased their share of the electorate, from 11 percent in 2006 (the last midterm election) to 12 percent in 2010. It is noted that black turnout was “not statistically different from the record high in 1998.”

In 2010, the overall turnout rate was 45.5 percent. White turnout was 46.7 percent compared to 43.5 percent for blacks.

There was a gender gap in black voter participation. Black female turnout was 43.5 percent. For black men, the turnout rate was 37.2 percent.

Hispanic and Asian turnout was 31.2 percent and 31.7 percent respectively.

As for Hispanics being “the largest and fastest growing minority,” those numbers don’t mean a thing if they can’t swing an election. And if you can’t vote, you don’t count.

The Census Bureau reports that 33.8 percent of Hispanics age 18 and over are registered to vote.

Tellingly, of the 32,457,000 voting-age Hispanics, 21,285,000 are citizens. Of those eligible to vote, 51.6 percent – 10,982,000 – are registered to vote.

Read more: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010 - Detailed Tables

16.7 Percent

It’s a new month, but it’s the same old misery. The Labor Department reports the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in August. The economy added 0 new jobs.

With zero job growth, 14 million Americans remain unemployed. The number of “involuntary part-time workers,” those who seek but are unable to find a full-time job, climbed from 8.4 million to 8.8 million.

For black Americans, the unemployment rate rose from 15.9 percent to 16.7 percent.

The jobless rate for black men climbed to 18.0 percent, from 17.0 percent. By contrast, white male unemployment fell from 8.1 percent to 8.0 percent.

For black women, the unemployment rate is unchanged at 13.4 percent. Still, it’s nearly twice that of white women (7.7 percent).

The black youth jobless rate is 46.5 percent, more than twice white youth unemployment (23.0 percent).

For a timeline on black joblessness, visit National Black Unemployment Rate.

Ask a Woman Who Knows

Last week the leaders of two civil rights organizations, Marc Morial and Benjamin Jealous, met with President Obama to discuss job creation and economic growth.

The readout of the meeting notes that Obama “congratulated the leaders on their upcoming conventions.”

As expected, my post about black female civil rights leaders being left out of the meeting sparked accusations that I am a “hater.” My response: Guilty as charged.

I hate that Wells Fargo was the “Lead Sponsor” of the NAACP’s 101st annual convention. And they’re still hooked up in Los Angeles.

The predatory lender was a “Principal Sponsor” of the National Urban League’s centennial conference, and will be back on board when the League kicks off its annual conference this week.

Now check this out: On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board ordered Wells Fargo to pay an $85 million fine for steering borrowers with good credit into subprime loans. I hate when that happens.

The order reads:

The $85 million civil money penalty is the largest the Board has assessed in a consumer-protection enforcement action and is the first formal enforcement action taken by a federal bank regulatory agency to address alleged steering of borrowers into high-cost, subprime loans.

[…]

The order addresses allegations that Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel steered borrowers who were potentially eligible for prime interest rate loans into loans at higher, subprime interest rates, resulting in greater costs to borrowers. The order also addresses separate allegations that Wells Fargo Financial sales personnel falsified information about borrowers’ incomes to make it appear that the borrowers qualified for loans when they would not have qualified based on their actual incomes.

I have been asked to identify the black women leaders who should have been invited. I will not name names because that would be a betrayal of their trust. Although they know their stuff, they would be ostracized and penalized for breaking the silence.

And I would really hate for that to happen.

UPDATE: The Huffington Post reports the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Wells Fargo for “allegedly preying upon African American borrowers during the housing bubble and steering them into high-cost subprime loans.”