I was there when Alabama intimidated voters. Now, Arizona Democrats are doing it again
I recently witnessed the best of democracy in New Hampshire.
Citizens peppered Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and former Republican Gov. John Huntsman with thoughtful questions about No Labels, an organization working to give voters in all 50 states other options in the 2024 presidential election.
As co-chair of No Labels and the former executive director and CEO of the NAACP, I was inspired by their expression of civic engagement.
But a new opposition force has emerged in several states to crush this reawakening of the commonsense majority — perhaps nowhere more so than in Arizona.
Arizona Democrats want to boot No Labels
The Arizona Democratic Party slapped No Labels with a lawsuit earlier this year.
It also sued Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to stop us from getting access on the 2024 presidential ballot.
After collecting the necessary signatures and having our petition approved by Fontes, the Democratic Party has baselessly asserted that the No Labels certification in Arizona was wrongfully permitted.
The Arizona Democratic Party complained that No Labels would be competing against its candidate. The lawsuit amounts to little more than an attempt to silence and suppress voting rights in Arizona.
This deeply troubles me.
Alabama tried similar tactics in the 1950s
In the 1950s, when I was a young Black student growing up in North Carolina, I well remember how Alabama tried to stop the NAACP from doing business in the state, even issuing subpoenas for its records, including membership lists.
The Arizona Democratic Party filed an additional complaint earlier this month with the secretary of state to intimidate the 7,000 Arizona citizens who signed a petition in support of our bipartisan work.
It seeks to suspend No Labels as a political party in Arizona until it discloses its donors.
These actions could infringe upon our supporters’ fundamental rights to political participation and free speech.
Sadly, these tactics remind me of a repressive chapter of our nation’s history when southerners intimidated Black voters during the Jim Crow era.
That case inspired my civil rights journey
The echoes of past injustices are hauntingly clear, and we must not today ignore the attempted erosion of American democracy.
The freedom of association enshrined in the First Amendment is a crucial element of a functioning democracy.
In the landmark 1958 case, NAACP v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the NAACP, recognizing the importance of protecting the principles of free speech, freedom of association and due process.
The decision was pivotal in my own journey as a civil rights worker.
I joined the NAACP in 1960 as a youth member in Oxford, N.C.
I later became the first Black person to get a library card at the segregated library in Oxford, and I began to work directly with Martin Luther King Jr. as a youth coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
In 1993, I was pleased to become the executive director and CEO of the NAACP.
In a vibrant democracy, all voices are heard
The parallels between the past and the present are undeniable.
The tactics employed today mirror the strategies used in the past to intimidate and disenfranchise Black voters.
They aimed in the past to maintain white supremacy and political hegemony, and to undermine equality and justice.
A vibrant democracy, however, ensures all voices are heard and every eligible citizen can participate without fear or intimidation.
We owe it to ourselves, our ancestors and future generations to stand up against voter suppression, ensuring our democracy remains diverse, equitable, inclusive and true to its founding principles.
Let us continue the struggle for equality and a fair and just democracy, with no labels.
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is a civil rights icon and national co-chair of No Labels. On Twitter: @DrBenChavis
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Democrats are intimidating No Labels supporters
