Today, I continue my personal journey of reading aloud the recollections of our formerly enslaved ancestors who were interviewed during the years 1936-1938, The Federal Writer's Project. I start my readings of the Alabama Slave Narratives with George Strickland.
Andy Brice recollects the election of 1878 when our ancestors lost their rights of citizenship and the right to vote in South Carolina along with some recollections of slavery and his ancestry as The Blackman Who Reads Aloud continues his journey through the Federal Writer's Project, South Carolina Slave Narratives.
The journey continues as I read the recollections of John Boyd who was held in slavery in South Carolina and came face to face with some of the most vicious racists in American History, Ben Tillman and the Red Shirts for example.
When you live to be 104 and have spent more that 40 years enslaved you should be able to tell stories for eternity about the oppression of the enslaved.
"Term limits dammit term limits dammit why in the hell is, Charles Grassley, an 88 year man running for his 8th term in the Senate in 2022? Why does an 88 year old woman, Dianne Feinstein, still hold a Senate seat when all her inner circle is aware that her mental faculties are severely impacted due to her age? Why are so many of our supposedly black congressional leaders a day late and a dollar short of acting on the measures that are vital to our black communities across this nation. Of course, we hear the same old lame argument whenever this talk of term limits are discussed by sensible folks feeling change is necessary, seniority, the longer you stay the more powerful you get in terms of being able to conduct business. Both the Senate and the House revolves around seniority and gaining chairmanship of the most important committees, Ways and Means, Intelligence, Appropriations, Armed Services, Agriculture, and Finance. This means staying longer rewards one in gaining one of those plum positions. The major problem with this process in using simply seniority as the deciding factor is that many times the representative holds onto power too long and becomes ineffectual in the position gained simply by staying around the longest. We need to change this process of governing in the legislative branch of our government. Just as we changed the executive branch of government to the limit of 2 terms for the President. No way should anyone serve damn near a 1/2 century of more in a federally elective position. The time for change has passed due, way passed due. The fact that an 88-year-old individual is responsible for impacting laws that will effect change for decades to come should tell you that term limits must be enacted. Where is that Constitutional Amendment? When does it arrive? "
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