Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
That's what happened to Whitney this week, when his name was misspelled as "Rich Whitey" on voting machines in almost two dozen wards in the city of Chicago. Even worse is the fact that the wards are in predominantly African American neighborhoods.
On one hand, one could argue that it was simply an error that happened to be funny. But the error isn't funny to Whitney, especially in light of the consequences. I am sure black voters won't be happy to see the name Rich Whitey on a ballot. Whitney is considering legal action to get the error fixed, and I don't blame him.
On the other hand, one must remember just how corrupt Illinois politics happens to be. Democrats have never been happy with the Green Party, believing that it steals many of their votes. It is not inconceivable that there could be something sinister going on. I find it hard to believe that the names on the machines were not proofread several times before being distributed. Given the importance and expense of most gubernatorial elections, it would make no sense to forget to triple-check everything.
Whitney deserves to have the error fixed. Also, there should be an investigation to find out what happened, to ensure that the mistake doesn't happen again. Such an insignificant, yet avoidable error with such serious consequences is not something to laugh about. Okay, maybe we can laugh just a little bit. But after we chuckle at the irony of the mistake, we need to be serious about correcting it.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.