The Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century occupies an important part of our history.

It is frequently referenced by contemporary politicians to make arguments about today’s issues.

Is this tactic always valid?

Consider a recent speech delivered by U.S. Attorney General Merrick S. Garland at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama, in commemoration of the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in 1965.

(Was it a violation of the “Separation of Church and State” for the Attorney General to speak at a church? Of course not. After all, Garland is an official in the Biden administration.)

Here are some excerpts from Garland’s speech:

The Justice Department owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the courageous activists who marched here in Selma 59 years ago. And to those who will march today.

The AG thus established a linkage in the minds of his listeners, associating what occurred 59 years ago with a very different situation today.

There are many things that are open to debate in America. One thing that must not be open for debate is the right of all eligible citizens to vote and to have their vote counted.

Nearly all Americans would be in agreement with that.

Garland addressed obstacles to the right to vote which American blacks have faced in our history.

The AG discussed the Reconstruction era, when “white supremacists used violence and threats of violence to stop Black Americans from exercising their right to vote.”

Garland talked about the mid-20th century.

But the right to vote was still under attack nearly a century later, when Black residents trying to register to vote in this county, and in jurisdictions across the country, were required to take nearly impossible tests that were designed to ensure that they fail.

And the right to vote was under attack on Sunday, March 7, 1965, when civil rights activists set out to march from Selma to Montgomery and were met with horrific violence.

The marchers’ courage helped usher into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which gave the Justice Department important authorities [sic] to protect the right to vote.

Now, 59 years later, AG Garland says the right to vote is again under attack.

[C]ourt decisions in recent years have drastically weakened the protections of the Voting Rights Act that marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge bled for 59 years ago.

Really?

And since those decisions, there has been a dramatic increase in legislative measures that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to vote and to elect the representatives of their choice.

This is a serious charge the AG is making here. But does he back it up?

Garland gives several examples of attacks on the right to vote.

Nevertheless, in his entire speech Garland NEVER gives one example of a contemporary American citizen, of any race, who has been denied the right to vote.

Not one example.

Yet Garland authoritatively declares, “The right to vote is still under attack. And that is why the Justice Department is fighting back.”

And also -

That is why we are challenging efforts by states and jurisdictions to implement discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot, including those related to mail-in voting, the use of drop boxes, and voter ID requirements.

Mail-in ballots and drop boxes were controversial practices associated with the disputed 2020 election.

And as for requiring secure photo voter ID, we’ve been told it disenfranchises people.

However, Mexico – where I formerly resided – has a very good voter registration system. In Mexico, the government issues photo voter ID.

Why can’t we have that here?

Along with combatting mass immigration (illegal and legal), fighting for secure elections is also important.

And here’s some good news: On February 29, three days prior to Garland’s speech, a federal judge in Arizona ruled that requiring voters to verify citizenship was not discriminatory.

“Say not the struggle nought availeth…”

You can find more of Allan Wall's work at his website and Mexico News Report.

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