“DEAR WHITE PEOPLE”

An Open Letter — Guest Opinion by State Rep. Juandalynn Givan

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

When you gut the protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, understand that Black Americans do not experience that as a political disagreement.

We see it as war.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

Before there was a Voting Rights Act, there were poll taxes.  

Before there were federal protections, there were literacy tests.  

Before there was representation, there was systematic exclusion.  

Before there was progress, there was blood in the streets and bodies hanging from trees.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

Black Americans did not inherit freedom in this country.  

We fought for it.  

We marched for it.  

We bled for it.  

We died for it.

From 1619…  

To the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863…  

To the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870…  

To Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965…  

To the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965…

Every gain Black people made in America came with sacrifice.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

When the Supreme Court of the United States continues dismantling the protections of the Voting Rights Act while political forces attempt to redraw congressional maps and weaken Black representation before 2030, do not ask us to quietly accept it.

Do not ask us to normalize it.  

Do not ask us to politely ignore it.  

And do not insult us by pretending this is simply about “states’ rights” or “politics.”

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

Black Americans know exactly what voter suppression looks like because we have lived it.

We remember being told we were not intelligent enough to vote.  

We remember having to count jellybeans in jars.  

We remember reciting portions of the Constitution before being allowed access to the ballot box.  

We remember intimidation.  

We remember exclusion.  

We remember violence.

And we remember who fought to keep those systems in place.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

This is a slap in the face to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  

A slap in the face to John Lewis.  

A slap in the face to Medgar Evers.  

A slap in the face to the four little girls murdered at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.  

A slap in the face to every Black American who believed this country could evolve into a true democracy.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

You may redraw districts.  

You may manipulate systems.  

You may attempt to dilute Black political power.  

You may attempt to silence Black voices.

But you cannot erase Black resilience.

You cannot erase Black excellence.  

You cannot erase Black endurance.  

And you cannot erase the undeniable truth that Black people helped build this nation while simultaneously being denied full access to it.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

Every time Black communities organize politically, there is an effort to move the goalposts.

Every time Black voters gain representation, there is an effort to redraw the lines.

Every time Black voices become powerful, there is an effort to silence them.

And yet — we continue to rise.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, ONE MORE THING

WE ARE NOT GOING BACK.

Not back to fear.  

Not back to silence.  

Not back to invisibility.  

Not back to second-class citizenship.

We will not quietly surrender the rights our ancestors died for.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

Black America survived slavery.  

Black America survived segregation.  

Black America survived lynching.  

Black America survived Jim Crow.  

Black America survived exclusion from the ballot box.

And Black America will survive this moment too.

Because there has never been a weapon formed against Black progress that permanently stopped Black people from rising again.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE,

We are still here.  

We are still fighting.  

We are still voting.  

We are still organizing.  

We are still rising.

And WE ARE NOT GOING BACK.

JUANDALYNN

Juandalynn Givan is a Democratic member of the Alabama House of Representatives, serving District 60 in Jefferson County since 2010. A Birmingham native, attorney, and business owner, she earned degrees from Miles College and Miles Law School before working in city government and founding her firm, Givan & Associates. In the legislature, she has focused on issues such as public health, criminal justice reform, and local governance, while building a reputation as a direct and vocal advocate for underserved communities.

For more information, follow Givan’s campaign on Facebook.

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