Political conventions in the U.S. are a kind of carnival for politicians. (I'm only half kidding. There are bands and flags and balloons and hats and all sorts of shenanigans during a convention, along with speeches and back-room deals. Portions of it are televised--like the world's most highly populated reality show!) Each state sends delegates, and the delegates decide on the nominee for that party for president (and incidentally the vice president too; you can't vote for these two offices separately in an election). The delegates can't just vote for whom they want: most of the choice has already been made by what are called primaries, which are sort of pre-election elections in each state. We ordinary citizens vote in those primaries. A candidate who wins a primary wins some or all of that state's convention votes. Each political party has its own convention, and by the end of that convention, the party has chosen its presidential candidate.
In 1964, if I recall correctly, an all-white delegation from Mississippi was seated at the Democratic convention. There was great controversy, and a racially mixed delegation, including Fannie Lou Hamer (see my post above) petitioned to be made the official Mississippi delegation. They were denied. But things did change. As I say, by the next year, the Voting Rights Act was made into law.
The history of the civil rights movement is an amazing one, because the main part of the action was spearheaded by people who committed themselves to nonviolent direct action, inspired by Gandhi. I recently read that some of the Egyptian activists this year had made a study of the movement and tried to put some of their ideas into practice. I think that Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King would be most gratified if that is true.
In 1964, if I recall correctly, an all-white delegation from Mississippi was seated at the Democratic convention. There was great controversy, and a racially mixed delegation, including Fannie Lou Hamer (see my post above) petitioned to be made the official Mississippi delegation. They were denied. But things did change. As I say, by the next year, the Voting Rights Act was made into law.
The history of the civil rights movement is an amazing one, because the main part of the action was spearheaded by people who committed themselves to nonviolent direct action, inspired by Gandhi. I recently read that some of the Egyptian activists this year had made a study of the movement and tried to put some of their ideas into practice. I think that Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King would be most gratified if that is true.
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