African-American electoral participation

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Why young Black men don't vote
By Michael Datcher, Pacific News Service, 14 November 1996. Continuing decline of Black voter participation in California. Young Black males don't believe their votes will make a difference: If white people really want to keep black people down, my one vote can't do a damn thing to stop them.
Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States
Sentencing Project, 8 March 1999. The scale of felony voting disenfranchisement in the U.S. is far greater than in any other nation and has serious implications for democratic processes and racial inclusion.
From Politics to Protest
By Dr. Manning Marable, Along The Color Line, July 1999. Despite legal desegregation and the partial integration of U.S. civil society, millions of black, brown and poor Americans continue to feel disempowered by the two party system and by conservative government policies pushed by both Republicans and Democrats.
African Americans Defy Trend of Plunging Voter Turnout, Census Bureau Reports
U.S. Census Bureau, Wednesday 19 July 2000. African Americans were the only race or ethnic group to defy the trend of declining voter participation in congressional elections. The increase in voter participation by African Americans was most notable in the South. Reasons for Not Voting. Voter registration between 1994 and 1998 increased for African Americans.
By Salim Muwakkil, 30 To 40 Percent Of The Next Generation Of Black Men Can Expect To Lose Their Right To Vote
By Salim Muwakkil, Chicago Tribune, Monday 2 September 2000. The black vote is such a precious political commodity these days that even a notorious xenophobe like Pat Buchanan felt the need to make a symbolic gesture to the black electorate by picking Ezola Foster, a black woman, for a running mate. But just as African-Americans are becoming more adept at wielding that currency, their voting power is being corroded by antiquated state laws that bar former inmates from voting.
Black voters get too little from Democratic Party
By Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe, 23 February 2001. If conservative Democrats are already trying to bring the party even more to the right, it is time for black voters to dump the bucket on their heads. No group in American politics gets so little in return for their support than black folks.
For Black Politicians, 2 Races Suggest a Rise of New Tactics
By Lynette Clemetson, New York Times, 22 August 2002. The defeat of two black incumbents suggest that successful black candidates no longer had to rely solely on rhetoric and tactics of the civil rights era and instead support for Bush's war and for Israel could garner support from an increasingly conservative black electorate [The argument here is contested].
Black Voters Ready to ‘Get Even’ for 2000 Fiasco
By Hazel Trice Edney, National Newspaper Publishers Association, Washington Correspondent, [23 December 2003]. Many African-Americans are still mad at how the Black vote was undermined in 2000 by the Black vote not being counted—and they want to get even. A string of voter registration projects.
Black Politicians Chicken Out on Reparations
Commentary, William Reed, Black Press International, 25 March 2007. When will black American voters figure out that they've been sold out by inept politicians? Black elected officials have become so ensconced in the system that they've completely retreated on issues directly affecting blacks.