Eric Holder’s Justice Department (DOJ) recently dropped a civil complaint against the New Black Panther Party (NBPP). Witness’s and video attest to members of the NBPP intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling station during the 2008 Presidential Election. Dressed in black military gear, one wearing a nightstick, and shouting racial slurs while, members of the NBPP disrupted citizens when they attempted to enter the polling station. One member of the party was eventually escorted away by police. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 protects citizens from voter intimidation. The legality and openness of our voting system is fundamental to our functionality as a democratic society. It is disconcerting that our Justice Department would drop a civil complain against such a group that violates such a fundamental tenant of our society.

Free and open elections are vitally important to our society; as such, we must endeavor to protect them. Our elections build trust in the American people that the government is run ‘By the People, for the People’. Without this trust, the fundamental values Americans have will begin to erode. Allowing intimidation tactics to occur at polling stations without complaint is a drastic step back for the progress made in America. Our history is ripe with examples of tactics being used to prevent certain groups of Americans to vote in our elections. From fees and aptitude tests, to threats of violence; our history of voting rights has gone through many trials to finally lead us to where we are today. Today our polling stations are free and open to all regardless of race, religion, origin, age and many other factors. The DOJ is sending the wrong message to the country, and setting a horrible precedence in failing to continue to pursue its civil complaint against the NBPP.

By dropping the suit against the NBPP, the DOJ has opened the door to a flood of scrutiny. This situation involves a black supremacy group intimidating voters during the election of the first black president, followed by the DOJ under the first black attorney general dropping a civil complaint about the group. This is not a good situation at all, for anybody. A little excerpt from the Washington Times

Kristen Clarke, director of political participation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Washington, however, confirmed to The Times that she talked about the case with lawyers at the Justice Department and shared copies of the complaint with several persons. She said, however, her organization was “not involved in the decision to dismiss the civil complaint.
She said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has consistently argued that the department should bring more voter intimidation cases, adding that it was “disconcerting” that it did not do so.

You can read into that as much as you want. Senators are beginning to question the DOJ for more details. News organizations are submitting requests for details under the Freedom of Information Act. As details continue to merge, the hope, is that the DOJ had a legitimate reason to drop the complaint suit.

Hopefully, the racial connections are merely a coincidence and not an example of a racial divide still existing in America. If this event is indeed, and example of a country divided by race, then the actions taken by the DOJ have done nothing but increase the chasm. The fiasco that has come about with the Harvard Professor and a Cambridge police officer, along with the irresponsible comments from President Obama, are still ripe on our minds. The Duke Lacrosse rape case is finally starting to slip from our memory. We must acknowledge that false accusations of racism are just as damaging to civil rights as are actual racist actions. As long as the racism alarm goes off whenever there is a conflict between a white and black man (or any race and gender), the social divides between race in our society will continue.

Until the time comes when men of different race, can come into conflict, and believe the other lacks racial motivation, can any conflict resolution come about.

The New Black Panther Party has since disbanded its Philadelphia chapter.