Black Legislators Disapprove Alabama Senate Vote to
Remove Jim Crow Language From Constitution
By yolanda
Politics365.com
June 8, 2011
http://politic365.com/2011/06/08/black-legislators-disapprove-alabama-senate-vote-to-remove-jim-crow-language-from-constitution/

Last week, a bill sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-
Decatur, to remove discriminatory language regarding
poll taxes and segregated schools from the state's 1901
constitution was passed without the approval of black
legislators. The Alabama House of Representatives will
now have their say on the bill called a "farce" by black
members.

Defending his position, Orr said he believed the bill
would send a message of intolerance for such language in
the Constitution.  Perhaps, more importantly, he
believes the current constitution hurts the state's
image.

The black legislators, however, don't want to limit
constitutional amendments to racist "language."  They
want to change constitutional provisions that lead to
inequities, such as in school funding.  According to
Sen. Bobby Singleton, "We need to reform the entire
constitution."

Sen. Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham agrees. "This bill to
me is a farce. It's a smokescreen. We know there are
disparities."

Cam Ward, a Republican senator and supporter of the
legislation said he believed that even though the racist
words were nullified by federal laws, they remained a
"black eye," on the state of Alabama.

I wonder too if black citizens of Alabama fear that if
the language is removed from the state's constitution
some might eventually try to deny the perverse and
pervasive nature of Jim Crow laws during that era.  Just
as there are groups that deny the Holocaust happened,
even as video and first person testimony confirms that
it did, it is likely that some group interests might be
served by denying Alabama's past.  Even as the Nation
commemorates the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War,
there are those who argue that the war wasn't about
slavery when it absolutely was.

It is understandable that Senator Orr worries about the
perception people have of Alabama; however, the state's
image can't be changed by erasing a few words from its
constitution.  Indeed, Alabama's history is what it is.
Its legislators can only change things going forward.
They do that by making the state a place of equity for
all its citizens.

Since the bill proposes a constitutional amendment, if
approved by the Alabama House, voters would have to
approve in a statewide referendum in November 2012.  A
similar measure was rejected by voters in 2004.

Note of interest:  At 340,136 words, the Alabama
Constitution is 12 times longer than the average state
constitution, 40 times longer than the U.S.
Constitution, and is the longest still-operative
constitution anywhere in the world. Maybe a full review
and reform is in order as the black legislators want.

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