We have an opportunity to reframe the Alabama Constitution | GARY COSBY JR.
The Constitution of Alabama of 1901 is a badly outdated document in need of a major overhaul, and the November election gives Alabamians the opportunity to revamp that document. In an extremely rare case, every state senator and representative is backing the plan to recompile the state's constitution.
The 1901 document was written by men who specifically wished to keep Black citizens down. While all the racist provisions in the document have been struck down by the United States Supreme Court or by changes to the laws of the state or by amendments to the Alabama Constitution, the racist language still exists in the document.
By voting "yes" in November, you will enable lawmakers to recompile the state constitution so it is more well organized, deletes duplicated amendments and removes that racist language. Here are a couple of examples of the racist language that would be removed.
Section 102 of Article IV: "The Legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a Negro, or descendant of a negro."
Section 256 of Article XIV: "Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race" and "To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide."
Overhauling the state constitution is designed to affirm Alabama's position as a state that promotes racial equality among its citizens rather than a state that foments racial division. This is critically important to the state's future growth and development. If you lead a company looking to invest in Alabama and happen to be presented information such as that cited by another state competing for the same company's dollars, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth of those investors.
State Rep. Merika Coleman is quoted by Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics as saying this of changing the constitution: "It sends a message out about who we are. It is important for us to let folks know we are a 21st century Alabama, that we’re not the same Alabama of 1901 that didn’t want Black and white folks to get married, that didn’t think that Black and white children should go to school together. We also want folks to know we’re open for business. We want people to come to the state of Alabama, spend your tax dollars, and that we again are a state that is this 21st century state, all kinds of different people, all kinds of different cultures, and we do not reflect what was in that 1901 constitution."
If you happen to be a Black citizen of Alabama and live knowing that your state still harbors such language in the state constitution, it cannot make you feel like a person who is valued by your state. The first section of the Alabama Constitution says this: "That all men are equally free and independent; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
How can one put stock in those words if other words such as those cited earlier still exist in the state's guiding legal document. The year 1901 was 121 year ago. We have made so much progress in this state, especially in race relations. It is an absolute shame and disgrace to still have such language in our constitution. It is definitely time to put an end to this and it is so very simple to do so. Vote "yes."
Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform issued this statement regarding the 1901 document: "The main objectives of the framers of the 1901 Constitution were to remove the voting rights of African-Americans and poor whites in Alabama while centralizing power in the hands of a few special interests in Montgomery. These goals were achieved with astounding success. By 1903, the number of African-American citizens registered to vote had dropped from 181,000 to less than 4,000, and over 40,000 white citizens had lost their right to vote as well. Although the infamous voting restrictions of 1901 were overturned by federal courts, evidence of this embarrassing legacy still remains in our Constitution today, and the centralization of power remains as strong as ever."
What remains of racism is in our hands to assign to history's trash heap. We have come a long way since Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus or when "Bloody Sunday" happened in Selma and "Bloody Tuesday" occurred in Tuscaloosa or when dogs were unleashed on Blacks in Birmingham. The journey is by no means over. There are still many barriers to racial equality in Alabama, but this is an excellent step to take on the road to eradicating a very dark time in Alabama history.
Gary Cosby Jr. is the photo editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Readers can email him at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: We can reframe the outdated Alabama Constitution | GARY COSBY JR.
