Elizabeth McKinney

Dr. Denecker
ENGL 551
4/13/15
The Race Problem: Education versus Voting
Since slavery was first introduced in the United States, before the
country even held that name, there has been a "race problem" dissected and
debated by both white Americans and African Americans. Many African
Americans believe the solution to this problem comes with being heard. In a
democratic nation, voting is used to provide the citizens with a voice;
through voting, individuals can make their demands and desires known. Here
in the United States, voting has not always been the best way to do this. For
African Americans as the slave era was ending, receiving an education, and
then communicating via that education, was the most effective way to end
the race problem. Today, it is much easier for everyone to become educated
and share what one has learned, so voting has become the African
American's equivalent to writing an article for a newspaper or giving a
speech that would make one's demands known. Unfortunately, not a large
percentage of African Americans vote, which leads to an underrepresentation
similar to the years when African Americans were oppressed and their voices
were undermined. A specific example of the voting problem can be seen in
the recent situation in Ferguson, Missouri.
The history of the education of African Americans tells of the difficulty

McKinney 2
they faced both during and after slavery. Many were forced to teach
themselves in secret to avoid punishment from slave owners and prejudice
from other white Americans. The difficulties faced by so many only
encouraged the educated African Americans to speak out in an attempt to
convince others that education was the answer to their problems: prejudice,
racism, joblessness or poor job conditions, and more. Furthermore, as
Ferdinand Barnett explains, the world easily dismissed the "vicious, ignorant
Negro" as a stereotype and the norm for the race, while the "educated and
refined" African American was the outlier ("Race Unity", 604). He later says,
"[the educated African Americans] must learn that their duty is to elevate
their less favored brethren" ("Race Unity", 605). The African American writers
and speakers of the time wanted to flip this stereotype so that educated
African Americans were considered the norm and taken seriously as citizens
of the United States.
There was also a general feeling of determination among the educated
African Americans to make a stand against the white Americans who held
them back based on this stereotype. Barnett demands action on behalf of his
race: "White people grant us few privileges voluntarily. We must wage
continued warfare for our rights, or they will be disregarded and abridged"
("Race Unity", 606). Joseph Price brings up this battle as well while discussing
time, which "is a large element in the stubbornness of a condition or evil, so
it is also true that time, coupled with the highest wisdom of administration,
becomes an indispensable element in producing the healthier and more

McKinney 3
desirable conditions" ("Education and the Problem", 736). African Americans
must fight both suppression and oppression, no matter how long it takes;
giving in will only prove the African American race inferior. Barnett also
discusses the issue of time, but insists this change will come about: "Though
generations come and go, the result of our labors will yet be manifest, and
an impartial world will accord us that rank among other races which all may
aspire to, but only the worthy can win" ("Race Unity", 607). These educated
African Americans knew their race could be worthy, they just needed to
continue striving for greater achievements despite the frustration of time.
One component of education that was considered especially critical to
overcoming the race's problems was desegregated schools. Hiram Revels
tells of his experiences: mixed "schools [are] in as prosperous and flourishing
a condition as any to be found in any part of the world . . . and between the
white and colored citizens [there is] friendship, peace and harmony"
("Abolish Separate Schools", 509). In the case of mixed schools, exposure
and education together resulted in better communication and relations
between the races.
Another significant factor in the education of African Americans,
particularly within the context of the race problem, is the importance of
learning from previous generations. Barnett tells his readers, "they must be
taught that in helping one another they help themselves; and that in the
race of life, when a favored one excels and leads the rest, their powers must
be employed, not in retarding his progress, but in urging him on and inciting

McKinney 4
others to emulate his example" ("Race Unity", 605).
The efforts to increase the number of African American voters can be
traced back to the 1800s, with Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a woman ahead
of her time. She considered the race problem to be a question of "whether or
not there is strength enough in democracy, virtue enough in our civilization,
and power enough in our religion to have mercy and deal justly with four
millions of people;" she later continues by insisting "the most important
question before us colored people is not simply what the Democratic party
may do against us or the Republican party do for us; but what are we going
to do for ourselves?" ("The Great Problem to be Solved", 564). Harper did still
encourage education, of course: "before our young men is another battle . . .
a battle against ignorance, poverty and low social condition" ("The Great
Problem" 566). However, she also knew African Americans needed to make
an effort to "[add their] quota to the civilization and strength of the country,"
partially through democracy ("The Great Problem", 565). While other writers
and orators of the time encouraged educated writing and speaking, Harper
encouraged taking active roles in shaping the future of the nation.
Price held the same beliefs as Harper. His solution "is the concession to
the negro of all the inalienable rights that belong to him as a man . . . and
the granting to him all the civil immunities and political privileges
guaranteed to every other citizen by the authority and power of the
Constitution of the American Government" ("Education and the Problem",
737). He even acknowledged the danger of an uneducated voter, who might

McKinney 5
"put ignorant or illiterate men in charge of the affairs of the county, State, or
section" thus leading to the "destruction of the county, State, or section"
("Education and the Problem", 739).
The difference between Harper and Price's theories about the earlier
race problem and today's race problem is that African Americans are now
recognized as a man; the race problem is now being perpetuated by
individuals who are no longer striving to make their voices heard and by
individuals who fulfill the fear Price addresses, of the uneducated voter.
Leaders in today's African American community have moved beyond
demanding educated speaking to demanding educated action from the
members of their own community.
There have been quite a few pushes to encourage African Americans to
vote in the last decade. For example, Ferguson, Missouri, which has been the
site of abnormally high racial conflict recently, has a history of low African
American voter turnout: only one-tenth, according to the Huffington Post
("Ferguson Black Voter Turnout", 11), which translated to about six percent of
the eligible African American voters in the last election ("Will Ferguson
Vote?", 3). However, students have been volunteering to spread awareness
about the election and to encourage voter registration ("Will Ferguson
Vote?", 9); as of October of 2014, only 128 individuals had registered to vote,
despite the controversy surrounding the death of Michael Brown ("Will
Ferguson Vote?", 6).
The problem is more than just voting, however, and one woman who

McKinney 6
did react passionately and verbally to the death of Michael Brown is Maria
Chappelle-Nadal, a Missouri state senator. In an interview, she states, "I
refuse to be part of the status quo. I refuse to be silent, to uphold a system,
to support a system that will allow denigration of other people" ("She's
Speaking Up", 16). Nadal's case is significant because she had a speech
impediment for years, restricting her voice ("She's Speaking Up", 1). As a
senator, her voice has an implicit authority that most voters don't havebut
she gives that authority to individuals who vote for her.
There are some advocates for making voting mandatory as a way to
counteract the low voting turnout, thus ensuring everyone's voice is heard.
While mandatory voting would fix the low turnout rate, it brings back Price's
concern of uneducated voters: if individuals are forced to vote, will they put
any effort into making an educated vote, or will they blindly cast their
ballots? Charles Ellison, a contributing writer for The Root doesn't address
educated votinginstead, he focuses on all of the problems mandatory
voting will solve, including offsetting the influence money from the upper
class has over certain candidates ("Why Not?", 4). It seems the advocates of
mandatory voting have forgotten the lessons of the past: education is the
most effective way to make your voice heard.
The problem with Nadal and Ellison's attempts to raise the voices of
African Americans is they aren't working together to educate the community.
Ellison wants the African American community to vote and Nadal wants to
give them a voice, but no one is educating the public anymore. African

McKinney 7
American community leaders have forgotten the lessons from Barnett,
Harper, Price, and the others. While voting is important, the preliminary
education is just as critical. Until African Americans are made aware of why
they should vote, what their votes can do, and the type of candidate they
should vote for, this demographic will continue to have a dangerously low
voter turnout rate, causing them to remain underrepresented in public
offices. This will further perpetuate the race problem, because public officials
have the best opportunity for voicing the demands of the African American
community in the United States.

McKinney 8
Works Cited
Barnett, Ferdinand L. "Race Unity." Lift Every Voice. Ed. Philip S. Foner and
Robert J. Branham.
Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1998. 604-07. Print.
Burke, Lauren V. "Ferguson is Having an Election, but Will Ferguson Vote?"
The Root 6 Apr
2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.
Ellison, Charles D. "Why Not Make Voting Mandatory?" The Root 23 Mar 2015.
Web. 12 Apr
2015.
Harper, Ellen Frances Watkins. "The Great Problem to be Solved." Lift Every
Voice. Ed. Philip S.
Foner and Robert J. Branham. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama
Press, 1998. 564-67. Print.
Price, Joseph C. "Education and the Problem." Lift Every Voice. Ed. Philip S.
Foner and Robert J.
Branham. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1998. 734-745.
Print.
Revels, Hiram R. "Abolish Separate Schools." Lift Every Voice. Ed. Philip S.
Foner and Robert J.
Branham. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1998. 506-511.
Print.
Silerio, Sharee. "She's Speaking Up for the Voiceless in Ferguson." The Root

McKinney 9
29 Mar 2015. Web.
12 Apr 2015.
Stewart, Mariah. "Ferguson Black Voter Turnout is What Worries Some City
Council
Candidates." Huffington Post 19 Mar 2015. Web. 12 Apr 2015.