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Explore how the social construct of race and racial oppression operates at multiple levels with a rotating focus on different social systems. Connect with Austin-area justice movement organizers and everyday people with relevant lived experience to lay out historical context, current affairs, and creative possibilities for a liberated future.
Hi, friends. Thank you for tuning into this week's reflections of community outreach, a program that gives voice to coop community organization members, as well as local folks doing great things in our larger community. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the CO OP board of directors, staff, volunteers, or underwriters. My name is Stacey Fraser. Pronouns are she and they.
Speaker 1:I am a white 43 year old, 5th gen Texan, upper middle class, queer mother, spouse, and sister on a journey of joy and a path towards freedom. I am a Kingian Nonviolence trainer, racial equity facilitator, and anti racism educator. This is the first ever episode of racism on the levels, a monthly show where my guests and I examine how the social construct of race and racism operates at the interpersonal, institutional, and structural levels throughout society with the focus on creative possibilities for the emerging future, a future free from oppression. I thank you for joining me today and invite you to tune in every 4th Monday afternoon at 2 PM CST. Today's show centers around voting rights and voter suppression.
Speaker 1:I'm joined by Shelley Hayes McMahon. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2:My name is Shelley Hayes McMahon. I currently serve as co president for political action of Black Austin Democrats in Travis County. I also serve as the treasurer of the Williamson County Democratic Party, and then my paid job is a deputy director of development and operations for Planned Parenthood Texas folks. I'm here today in my political space using my political hat as the co president of Black Austin Democrats.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Thank you. You are just the person that I wanted to have this conversation with because, you know, Austin has a dwindling black population. Right? I think we're at maybe 8% now.
Speaker 1:The state of Texas itself, it's given a lot of airtime on the federal media level, in addition to the state level and I wanted to just hear from you for a minute about pulse check. Like what's going on coming into this election? What's on your heart in terms of the dynamics of specifically policy level racism at play related to structural racism?
Speaker 2:You know, I think, well, 1, thanks for having me. 2, I think there is a there is a longer conversation around voting rights that has to be had because we're I think this is the 10th anniversary of Shelby versus Holder coming up. And, basically, that is when justice Roberts gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 declaring that, you know, basically, racism racism was over. We had solved everything. So, you know, the voting rights of black and brown people in this country no longer needed extra protections.
Speaker 2:And what it did was take away the federal check on any sort of state regulations around voting. So it used to be pre Shelby versus Holder that if a state wanted to change voting regulations, change polling locations, change voter ID regis regulations, there was a federal check on that. And then the federal government said yes or no. This was okay or not okay. That is now gone, which has led to rapid voter disenfranchisement around the country and in Texas.
Speaker 2:A couple of years ago, you know, we had the the secretary of state cleansing the voter rolls incorrectly. Right? But not illegally, but incorrectly. So there is a what is happening at the the supreme court level is also affecting what happens at the state level. That being said, what we are seeing mostly in Texas and we don't see a lot of this in Travis County because Travis County is a a very a liberal leaning county.
Speaker 2:Right? So there isn't a lot of voter suppression. I do think that there are some things that Travis County could do better. I would like to see more polling locations, you know, on the red line side of Austin and Travis County. I would like to see more polling locations in more nontraditional religious spaces.
Speaker 2:You know, we tend to hold polling locations in white churches. And if you look at the the early voting locations that are up now, you know, there's lots of church locations on the the west side and on the south side. On the east side, you know, there's the library. You can go to the Millennium Youth Center. You can go to Carver.
Speaker 2:But I would also like to see polling locations that are located in a mosque. You know, polling locations that are in Unitarian churches, polling locations that are in more nontraditional religious spaces so everyone has opportunity to vote where they feel comfortable. Right? So that's something I I think is not voter suppression, but it can be discouraging.
Speaker 1:You know? A barrier to participation.
Speaker 2:Yeah. To black and brown voters. So just keeping that in mind. But, you know, in Travis County, I feel like this is one of the better things that they do. The majority of the early voting locations on the east side all have a bus line that's within 5 minutes of the polling location.
Speaker 2:So that I think is great. What I'm not crazy about is the fact the Capital Metro just doesn't have enough bus lines at the east side. It's fantastic that you can get off the bus and walk 5 minutes to your polling location. But if you can't get the bus to get there, that's a whole other thing.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Especially with work schedules and other family commitments.
Speaker 2:With work schedules and then with, you know, s p 1, the the voting restrictions, you know, that have come down now. So we have more hours for early voting, but they don't benefit 3rd shift workers. Right? They don't benefit folks who are working on the night shift, which is normally black and brown voters. So there are a lot of cultural issues that come into voter suppression or voter discouragement or voters feeling like, I can't make time, I can't get off work, which keeps them from voting that I think needs to be taken into consideration by the county, by the party, and, you know, by the state.
Speaker 2:Our state voting is run by Republicans, So, they're in no hurry to make voting easier for anyone, especially black and brown voters. And you see what happened in Harris County. Harris County did some extraordinarily innovative things with 24 hour voting, with drive through voting, with, mailing out mail in ballots as many as humanly possible. And they had some fantastic results. And people who would normally not be able to vote or couldn't find time to vote or get off work to vote had the opportunity to make their voice heard, now all of those things are illegal.
Speaker 2:There's no more drive through voting. There's no more 24 hour polling locations. And Harris County was the bellwether for Texas. If Harris County could do it, Dallas County could do it. Travis County would be able to do it.
Speaker 2:And it scared Republicans. Oh my gosh. It scared them so badly. So now we are back to square 1, trying to figure out how black and brown voters can always make their voice heard because the mail in ballots have become more complicated Mhmm. With where you're using the last four of your social or, you know, your driver's license number.
Speaker 2:And then that also has to be written on an outside envelope. None of these things are clear
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:To anyone. There's also you know, our voter ID laws in Texas, we have so many college students trying to vote, but you cannot use your college ID. And I don't know what you went through to get your college ID, but I basically had to get a note from my mom, a note from a doctor, you know, blood sample to get to get my college ID. But you can use a concealed carry permit, which, by the way, you don't have to have to fill your gun in Texas anymore. So it's just it's comical at time.
Speaker 2:You know, if we didn't laugh about it, we would cry. We'd
Speaker 1:use Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Just the different levels of structural racism when it comes to voting and voting rights in Texas and the United States. I don't know if you saw. There was some video the other day of voters in Florida who were being arrested for voter fraud. Yes. This morning, in fact, I saw that.
Speaker 2:Yes. That they could vote. And then that rule being changed, and now they're being arrested. And that, especially for those of us who have family members who are, you know, coming off paper, as we say, who are just off of parole, who are formerly incarcerated, this is keeping them from voting. This is scaring them from voting and keeping their voice heard.
Speaker 2:You know, we've got Crystal Mason here in Texas who is a a dear friend and an accomplice in this work, also tricked into thinking that she could vote. So there are so many forces at play and so many bad actors in the voting rights space that getting this fixed is truly a labor of love. Right? Eradicating structural racism inside of the voting rights platforms is unending work, and it is the white power system realizing that it's not just the right to vote, but it's access to voting. And how can we make access to voting easier?
Speaker 2:Should election day be a a federal holiday? Yes. Everybody everybody should have time off, to vote.
Speaker 1:I know more and more black and brown folks are obviously being economically displaced from living in Travis County, and so you're moving further and further out. So do you, Shelly, see any differences in, the state of voting in the 3 counties in the greater Austin area, or is it audible to you?
Speaker 2:One thing that I do see you know, I live in Williamson County. It can be complicated and confusing to vote in Williamson County because there are parts of Cedar Park that are in Travis County. And a lot of times, those voters don't find out that they can't vote in Williamson County until they go to a polling location in Williamson County, and then they're told they have to go to the church off of the street that starts with z to vote up here because they have to vote in a Travis County polling location. So I think up here, we don't have voter suppression. It's just voting complications.
Speaker 2:Right? Hays County, same thing. Complicated, but not suppression. What I will say, however, about polling locations, it is very important that black and brown people are represented at the polls as election judges, as alternate judges, and as poll workers, and now as poll watchers. I normally work, either as an election judge or an alternate judge or a poll worker in every election.
Speaker 2:This election, I'm not. But 9 times out of 10, when I go for my training, I might be 1 of 2 or 3 black faces in the room, and there's a good chance I'm the youngest person in the room. I'm 52. So we have a a lack of representation at the polls, not just voting. It's who is running our elections.
Speaker 2:Right? Who is safeguarding the, you know, security and integrity of our elections? And black and brown people need to get more involved in working the polls. There is a inherent responsibility that we have to ensure that our people are able to vote, that that they're able to vote unrestricted, and they're able to vote without intimidation. And the way poll watching is structured now, poll watchers can do everything except go into the polling booth with a voter.
Speaker 2:And if a voter is voting with assistance from a poll worker, then the poll watcher does have the right to, like, stand there and watch this person vote. So that intimidation practice, we're going to see that expanded, especially on the republican side. I think there's going to be a lot of poll watchers that are going to be stationing themselves on the east side of Travis County. I think there's going to be a lot of republican poll watchers who are especially in districts or in counties where there is hotly contested school board races. I think there's going to be a lot of voter intimidation tried by poll watchers.
Speaker 2:So it's very important that black and brown people sign up to be poll workers so that we are there to defend our right to vote without restriction and without intimidation, and our physical presence is important. You only have to be 16 to be a poll worker in Texas, so, you know, it's a it's a great opportunity for college kids. It's a great opportunity to, you know, get a crew together in your neighborhood and go defend our democracy. And we have to make it equitable for those who wanna take a day off from work to go work the polls. How do we make it equitable to do that?
Speaker 2:We should probably be paying at least $15 an hour, at least $20 an hour to be a poll worker. So there are some things that we can do to make the process more equitable for everyone who wants to work the polls, so it doesn't become like a a hobby for older retired people, which it it kinda is, you know, right now. So removing those barriers for younger folks or for parents is something to look at most definitely. It's one of the easiest ways, that we can have representation at the polls.
Speaker 3:You're listening to racism on
Speaker 4:the levels with Stacey Fraser, one
Speaker 3:of the monthly rotating programs produced by the RoeCo collective
Speaker 4:here on Coop Radio. Please stay tuned. We'll be right back.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, this show is airing on the 1st day of early voting. And so my question is, do you have to sign up in advance and how far in advance? And is there anything in this election cycle that folks can still do?
Speaker 2:I did a couple of checks to see what the deadline was for signing up to be a poll watcher. And there are expiration dates for your poll watching certificate, but they did not have a deadline for when you can become a poll watcher. So there are some videos and trainings online at the Secretary of State website for being a poll watcher. So that's one thing. You know, if you happen to be an attorney and you wanna work in election protection, also a fantastic thing to volunteer your time towards if you are in legal representation.
Speaker 2:Everyone is looking for lawyers to, work in election protection, so great way to participate in this upcoming election.
Speaker 1:Is it permissible to bring water, snacks, things to people standing in long lines?
Speaker 2:It is not legal to bring water or snacks to folks in line. Harris County doesn't normally have long lines. It's kind of rare that we experience a lag, in voting times in Travis County or Williamson County. If we do, it's normally because we are lacking poll workers. So if we don't have a shortage of poll workers because we're all doing, you know, some civic duty there and helping folks vote, then that normally keeps our lines manageable.
Speaker 1:You mentioned earlier that this is a labor of love. Right? And that is absolutely on point with my show saying love is the highest level, and this is love. This is love for each other. This is love for the spirit of this system and making sure that folks have a voice.
Speaker 1:So what are you hopeful about thinking about? This is hard work, but what gives you hope?
Speaker 2:I am hopeful because the generation before me never gave up and still hasn't. I am hopeful that my demographic is still fighting. You know, I'm a 52 year old black suburban mom raising 2 young black men with my husband. I am hopeful that my kids understand the importance of voting. And I see this just deluge of youth engagement around the state, not only just around voting rights, but around a woman's right to choose, around abortion access, around climate change.
Speaker 2:I am hopeful that these kids are so protective of their friends and their family and their peers and their identities that they fight for the LGBTQIA plus communities with such a fierce determination that no one will be erased. So it gives me hope, and it fills me with hope, and it fills me with pride that we're doing the right things, that we hold ourselves accountable, and that we understand that giving or having rights does not mean less for others. And I think this younger generation has so much clarity of thought around that one concept, that everyone having rights or equal rights and equity does not mean that it's less for another person. That just seems to be so hard for older people to understand.
Speaker 1:It is not a zero sum game.
Speaker 2:It really isn't. And when I see these younger people, especially my children, it just fills my heart. That's why I know we're going to be alright. You know, when I'm too tired to fight, when my parents are too tired to fight, these kids and I say kids, but I do mean young people. They're in it, and they're in it to win it.
Speaker 2:I have fear, of course, but my hope outweighs my fear every day.
Speaker 1:What do you hope to see happen this election? And then I'm always looking a step ahead. How can folks be putting their minds around what is the next election?
Speaker 2:So for this election, I am looking for increased turnout aligned with increased voter registration. I am looking for wins at the statewide level, and I'm also looking for increased voter engagement around our school board races. I am hoping that folks truly understand what is at stake for our educational system if we allow anti CRT, anti LGBTQIA, anti actual American history school board candidates to get elected. So that I am definitely looking for in this upcoming election. And then, you know, for our next election, we're going in a live session to be focusing on the ledge for, the next year or so.
Speaker 2:But I think for the the following election, I'll be hoping for more people stepping into the arena, more black and brown candidates stepping up and saying, okay. It's time for me to run. And then finding the help that they need, getting the support that they need, raising the money that they need to be a successful candidate.
Speaker 1:Is there an organization or resource that those black and brown folks can go to to start learning?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. Most definitely. You know, the LBJ School has a great program for women who are wanting to run for office. There's an organization called Annie's List that also trains women who are wanting to run for office. Emily's List also does training for women who are wanting to run for office.
Speaker 2:The Collective PAC, which is a national black led pack, also does training for black candidates who are wanting to run for office. Higher Heights is a national organization. Does training for black women wanting to run for office. So there are multiple outlets out there if you decide you want to step up or if you're just exploring wanting to step up. But I would love to see more black and brown candidates stepping up and and hopping into these, positions of power.
Speaker 1:Okay. Last question for today. So you are my first guest on this show, and what a wonderful way to kick this off. Who would you like to see come on the show and have a conversation with me in future episode and why?
Speaker 2:If I had my wish, and it's a big wish, I would love to hear you interview doctor Peniel Joseph. His latest book is called The 3rd Reconstruction. Peniel has a almost supernatural power of recall when it comes to American history as it relates to black people because black history is American history. And I one, I can listen to him talk all day. 2, he is a master of tying it all together.
Speaker 2:Right? He is a master of
Speaker 1:Synthesis.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Helping us understand that the voter suppression tactics that we are seeing now are nothing but reruns from 18/65. That literally, this is nothing new. That voter suppression, especially like in South Carolina, in North Carolina. Oh, my God.
Speaker 2:He's got some great stories about South Carolina and North Carolina. How those states used to have black representation. They had black people in their House of Representatives. And it's just, it's insane. When you listen to him tie the 1st Reconstruction, the 2nd Reconstruction and the 3rd Reconstruction all together, and then it all comes down to voter suppression tactics here and trying to steal elections.
Speaker 2:Right? All of these claims of voter fraud. It is insane. So if you can ever get him on your show, I don't know that there is a more educated voice of integrity when it comes to talking about structural racism because his work is a genuine labor of love and not only educating white people and black people about our history as Americans and how racism has been interwoven into every structure in American society. So he would be my dream guest for you.
Speaker 1:If you were the host, what question would you ask him?
Speaker 2:You know, when I see Peniel, the first thing I ask him is what's on your mind today? And then, you know, my second question is usually asking him to connect history with our present because he can always see and define the connections from pre civil war, post civil war to today because nothing is new under the sun.
Speaker 1:Doctor King would tell us that the arc of the universe bends on the side of justice, so hopefully we're gonna break this cycle. Or if we take a longer view, we won't keep cycling through and repeating history. Right?
Speaker 2:We can hope. If we don't learn from the past and see how it affects the present and how the past is still present, then, you know, we're doomed in this cycle.
Speaker 1:Well, Shelly, thank you. Oh, you're so welcome. Love and gratitude to you for taking time out of this very busy season for you to, come and talk to the listeners on CO OP and give back to the community in this way. It's been
Speaker 2:a great pleasure.
Speaker 1:Yes. Thank you for tuning in. If you have questions or ideas for future show topics or guest, you can reach out to me at the letter c, the number 3, catalyst.com where you will find archived episodes of Racism on the Levels once they air. Gratitude once again to my guest, Shelley Haze McMahon. Brandon Temple supplied the music for today's program.
Speaker 1:We've been listening to pieces of the track New Dawn by Temple Underground. Love and respect to Michelle Gratitude to my family for supporting me in this labor of love.
Speaker 2:And I give thanks
Speaker 1:to my ancestors and the many teachers who've nourished and inspired me. Tema O'Cun, Doctor Bernard Lafayette junior, Iyanka Jackson, Rasma Minicam, Adrienne Marie Brown, Carrie Points, Evangeline Weiss, and countless others. This is Stacey Fraser. You've been listening to Racism on the Levels, which airs every 4th Monday as part of the rotating roko programming here on Coop Radio. Please join me next month and remember in all things and always, love is the highest level.