Jasper the Cat

As someone who worked in a public library for 28 years, I'm really mad at the efforts of right wing activists to ban books about LGBTQIA+ issues and the history of racial relations from public libraries. The whole point of public libraries is to offer a wide diversity of viewpoints for the public to read or watch, to help inform the community of divergent views to give them informed opinions and understand the arguments of opposing sides as they debate important political issues.

So the library must showcase views from both the Left and the Right. It should have right wing economists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman and left wing economists like John Maynard Keynes and Karl Marx. If should make available to people works by conservative Christians, liberal Democrats, Socialists, Libertarians, Marxists, Anarchists, etc...

In 1993 I illustrated the children's picture book "Two Moms, The Zark and Me" by Johnny Valentine, a book advocating for gay parents. I have mixed feelings about the book.

On the one hand, I'm proud to have done a book about gay parenting. I have several gay and le***an friends and was happy to advocate for those rights. At that time, I attended an Asian American Evangelical church, and if you dig underneath the surface, there is a lot more diversity of views than one would expect. Several people within that church who are either gay, supported gay and le***an rights or had close gay and le***an friends and family members whom they cared for. They didn't like how their more rigidly conservative churchgoers would treat gay and le***an Christians.

On the other hand, I have always wished that I did a better job of illustrating the book. I hadn't yet fully formed my art style when I illustrated the book. So I always wish that I have a chance to re-illustrate the book later in life when I developed my art style and had more confidence in my work. There are a few pages that I liked. But much of the work seems tentative and lacks confidence.

The book didn't get many good reviews, and a lot of the book critics recognized that I didn't have the maturity yet as an artist to do justice to Johnny Valentine's text. But I am still proud of the positive influence that "Two Moms, the Zark and Me" had on many gay families.

When I used to work as a page in the children's department of the Santa Clara Public Library, someone would occasionally come up to me and ask if I was the illustrator to "Two Moms, the Zark and Me". When I told them that I was, they would thank me. They were a gay parent and they told me that the Zark book was a great help to their children.

That made me very proud.

I didn't realize this until this morning, but on June 11, 2023, Grey Wiviott gave a presentation of "Two Moms, the Zark and Me" in a church service at the Unitarian Church of Evanston. I want to let them know that I can paint a new batch of illustrations if they have any future presentations of the book. But I'm happy that the book still has a positive influence.

Go to 13:01 of the video and you can see the presentation.

June 11th, 2023 - Celebrating the Continuum of Human Authenticity June is Pride month throughout the US. CLICK SHOW MORE to see today's worship links and information.It is a time to celebrate our rich human diversity of ge...

Award winning Filipino American editorial cartoonist Angelo Lopez has cast a wary eye on the Philippines since 2016. He has self published a collection of his cartoons into the book "The Duterte Years: Angelo Lopez Cartoons 2016-2022".

During that time, Rodrigo Duterte became President of the Philippines and he began to systematically attack the democratic institutions of the country. He gave the police impunity to kill people who are only suspected of drug crimes without giving these suspects a chance to defend themselves in a court of law. The result is around 30,000 Filipinos killed by the police or vigilantes. As well as crime suspects, anyone who dares criticize Duterte or the use of extrajudicial killings is targeted to be harassed, jailed or killed. So journalists, lawyers, activists, priests, mayors, and ordinary people are being threatened for daring to be critical.

Angelo Lopez has used his cartoons to report on President Duterte's war on democracy. In the pages of the Philippine News Today, a Filipino American newspaper based in San Francisco Bay Area, Angelo's cartoons shine a light on economic exploitation, vigilante killings, and the steady walk to authoritarianism. Through his cartoons, Angelo Lopez is trying to cry out to Filipinos and Filipino Americans to take notice before it is too late.

You can purchase Angelo's book in Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Duterte-Years-Angelo-Cartoons-2016-2022/dp/B0BZ2Y7G95/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JSGCWWRPACVM&keywords=the+duterte+years+angelo+lopez&qid=1685040153&s=books&sprefix=the+duterte+years+angelo+lopez%2Cstripbooks%2C142&sr=1-1

"Angelo Lopez' eagerly anticipated book of political cartoons is vivid, evocative, and beautifully drawn. He provides a rare glimpse of Filipino American history and the struggles of working class Filipinos and Filipino Americans grappling with issues such as wage theft, labor exploitation, hate, scapegoating, and inequality in contemporary American and Filipino society. His cartoons also provide an unflinching look at the abuse of power and of resistance in the Philippines. It is a must read book that I highly recommend."

RUTH SILVER TAUBE, Coordinator, Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition and Supervising Attorney, Workers' Rights Practice, Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, Santa Clara University School of Law

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p43vJ1DLDmA

"The Duterte Years: Angelo Lopez Cartoons 2016-2022" Award winning Filipino American editorial cartoonist Angelo Lopez has cast a wary eye on the Philippines since 2016.During that time, Rodrigo Duterte became ...

Award winning Filipino American editorial cartoonist Angelo Lopez has cast a wary eye on the Philippines since 2016.

During that time, Rodrigo Duterte became President of the Philippines and he began to systematically attack the democratic institutions of the country. He gave the police impunity to kill people who are only suspected of drug crimes without giving these suspects a chance to defend themselves in a court of law. The result is around 30,000 Filipinos killed by the police or vigilantes. As well as crime suspects, anyone who dares criticize Duterte or the use of extrajudicial killings is targeted to be harassed, jailed or killed. So journalists, lawyers, activists, priests, mayors, and ordinary people are being threatened for daring to be critical.

Angelo Lopez has used his cartoons to report on President Duterte's war on democracy. In the pages of the Philippine News Today, a Filipino American newspaper based in San Francisco Bay Area, Angelo's cartoons shine a light on economic exploitation, vigilante killings, and the steady walk to authoritarianism. Through his cartoons, Angelo Lopez is trying to cry out to Filipinos and Filipino Americans to take notice before it is too late.

"Angelo Lopez' eagerly anticipated book of political cartoons is vivid, evocative, and beautifully drawn. He provides a rare glimpse of Filipino American history and the struggles of working class Filipinos and Filipino Americans grappling with issues such as wage theft, labor exploitation, hate, scapegoating, and inequality in contemporary American and Filipino society. His cartoons also provide an unflinching look at the abuse of power and of resistance in the Philippines. It is a must read book that I highly recommend."
RUTH SILVER TAUBE, Coordinator, Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition and Supervising Attorney, Workers' Rights Practice, Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, Santa Clara University School of Law.

The Duterte Years: Angelo Lopez Cartoons 2016-2022 Award winning Filipino American editorial cartoonist Angelo Lopez has cast a wary eye on the Philippines since 2016. During that time, Rodrigo Duterte became President of the Philippines and he began to systematically attack the democratic institutions of the country. He gave the police impunity ...

When I attended an Episcopal Church in the late 2000s, I produced a weekly cartoon for the church bulletin to go with the the weekly readings. "Bible Cartoons" is a collection of these cartoons, which are collected from the years 2009 to 2012. Amazon has a service where anyone can self-publish their work.

Doing these cartoons were a lot of fun for me. I admit I'm not a biblical scholar. But I really enjoyed reading the passages and trying to come up with a unique illustration that would show my perspective on the passage.

I would read the Bible passage on Sunday or Monday and try to come up with an idea. Then on Tuesday I'd ink up the cartoon and submit the cartoon to the church secretary on Wednesday afternoon.

Over the years I've struggled with my own Christian faith. I've had wonderful experiences with church and terrible experiences with church, which has given me a love/hate relationship with Christianity. But there is still something within me that wants to believe in God and Jesus, even though I struggle with doubts.

I'm grateful for the positive experiences that I've had. Growing up I was deeply influence by the social justice aspects of the Roman Catholic Church, the examples of the Old Testament prophets, Jesus, St. Francis and Dorothy Day. During the 1970s and 1980s, I deeply admired the priests, nuns and lay Catholics who were risking their lives to speak out for the poor in the Philippines and Latin America. And I grew to admire Christians from other denominations who fought for social justice: Martin Luther king Jr, Bayard Rustin, Pauli Murray, Will D. Campbell, Robert MacAffee Brown, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ralph Abernathy..

If you scratch the surface, I'm a very flawed person who doesn't live up to the highest Christian values. But I like what Pope Francis said about the Church being a hospital for sinners rather than just a sanctuary for saints. Over the years I've gotten into a lot of conflicts with fundamentalist Christians who tell me that I'm not a true Christian. Maybe they're right. But I hope these cartoons express the fondness that I have for the Bible and my respect for the best parts of the Christian church.

Bible Cartoons Bible Cartoons

In case anyone likes my political cartoons, here is a collection of my political webcomic Jasper the Cat that I did for the now defunct progressive blogsite Everyday Citizen. My webcomic centered on Jasper the Cat, an activist cat who worked in the grassroots for social change. These cartoons touch on issues of economic inequality, racial justice, feminism and environmental concerns. Here is a collection of the best of those cartoons. Amazon has a service where anyone can self-publish their work.

I don't remember how I got contacted to contribute blogs for Everyday Citizen. It was a blogsite based in Kansas for progressives to voice their opinions. As a Californian, my blogs and cartoons focused on progressives issues faced in the west coast.

Jasper was based on a pet that I used to have. I had never had a pet before. But my wife Lisa owned Jasper and loved him, and I grew to love him too. I didn't realize how emotionally attached I could get with a cat. When he passed away in 2012, I felt very sad.

I enjoyed creating this webcomic because the multi-panel format allowed me to create more nuanced political commentary than my single panel editorial cartoons for the Tri-City Voice and Philippines Today. And I loved drawing the Jasper cartoon character. I'm trying to write some children's story ideas based on Jasper.

Jasper the Cat and the Cartoons of the Everyday Citizen Website Jasper the Cat and the Cartoons of the Everyday Citizen Website

A cartoon for the September 2, 2020 Philippine News Today. Recently deceased activists Zara Alvarez and Randall Echanis were on a kill list of activists who have been red-tagged by the military.

Angelo | The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is a professional association concerned with promoting the interests of staff, freelance and student editorial cartoonists in the United States.

Polish-born artist Arthur Szyk was alarmed by the N**i threat and used his pen and paper to call public attention to the persecution of Europe’s Jews. He depicted Hi**er and the Axis powers as global menaces and drew sympathetic portrayals of the victims of their brutality.

Art has long been used as a form of protest to influence social and political action. Join us to learn about the power of art—then and now—to change minds and highlight our shared humanity.

Speaker
Dr. Steven Luckert, Senior Program Curator, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Moderator
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Art of Protest: Then and Now Polish-born artist Arthur Szyk was alarmed by the N**i threat and used his pen and paper to call public attention to the persecution of Europe’s Jews. He dep...

"Over a year ago CRNI was one of a number of organizations that wrote to the Supreme Court of California on behalf of cartoonist Ted Rall, who was attempting to overturn a lower court decision in favor of his former employer, the Los Angeles Times.

Rall was fired in 2015 amid claim and counter-claim of deceit surrounding the release of an alleged audio recording of an arrest for jaywalking nearly to decades ago. Later he attempted to sue for unfair dismissal and the Times moved against him using 'anti-SLAPP' measures. In essence the Times was contending that Rall’s suit was a baseless nuisance and that the First Amendment protected their statements about Rall as it pertained to a matter of public interest.

The supreme court originally consented to hear Rall’s subsequent appeal but CRNI has recently learned of a reversal. Rather than having another hearing and then the possibility of a fresh set of proceedings the original lower court decision has instead been decertified....'SLAPP' suits are a favored method used by major corporations to silence critics – famously, John Oliver has made much sport of the various suits brought against him and his Last Week Tonight show by mining magnate Bob Murray – and so 'anti-SLAPP' laws are an important safeguard for freedom of speech."

Excerpt of an article by The Cartoonists RIghts Network International

Ted Rall denied his day in court The Supreme Court of California will not hear Ted Rall’s appeal in his case against the LA Times but has decertified the lower court’s decision.

Campaigning nominee Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) is a small organisation with a big impact: monitoring threats and abuses against editorial cartoonists worldwide.

Marshalling an impressive worldwide network, CRNI helps to focus international attention on cases in which cartoonists are persecuted and put pressure on the persecutors.

CRNI tracks censorship, fines, penalties and physical intimidation – including of family members, assault, imprisonment and even assassinations.

Once a threat is detected, CRNI often partners with other human rights organisations to maximise the pressure and impact of a campaign to protect the cartoonist and confront those who seek to censor political cartoonists.

#IndexAwards2019: Cartoonists Rights Network International | United States / International Campaigning nominee Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) is a small organisation with a big impact: monitoring threats and abuses against editoria...

The Cartoonists Rights Network International monitors threats against political cartoonists: physical violence; criminalisation; forced displacement; censorship; litigation; online harassment; verbal or physical abuse, intimidation.

CRNI envisions a world where political cartoonists are free from persecution and able to use their creativity as a powerful tool for communication.

CRNI strengthens the interconnectedness of cartoonists around the world, campaigns to protect their human rights and defends those threatened as a result of their work.

• We believe cartoonists occupy a unique role requiring specialised campaigning and defence.

• Cartoonists are among those on the front lines of free speech.

• We monitor and verify threats in order to provide direct support to those who need it most.

• Our approach is always about the person – we do not distinguish on the basis of career level, fame or reputation, preferred format, platform or methodology.

• Our client base ranges from internationally celebrated cartoonists to newcomers persecuted simply for putting a drawing on their social media.

• Collaborative working is at the core of what CRNI does. We work with cartoonists’ organisations as well as human rights and freedom of expression NGOs all over the world.

• We seek to form lasting relationships with cartoonists and gather support from the wider global community.

Who We Are OUR VISION CRNI envisions a world where cartoonists are free from persecution and able to use their creativity as a powerful tool for communication. OUR MISSION CRNI strengthens the interconnectedn…

"Cartoon Movement, Cartooning For Peace and Cartoonists Rights Network International welcome last week’s statement made by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, European Federation of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium calling attention to problems faced by cartoonists in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, The Netherlands, Sweden and elsewhere....In the last two months we have also seen cartoonists arrested, threatened, subjected to cyber attack or court action originating in Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Palestine, Peru and Uganda. And these are only the incidents that we can safely acknowledge. There is more; CRNI says that from late March through early May there have been twice over the usual number of incidents reported....Cartooning for Peace often remind us that cartoonists are 'democracy barometers', as the threats they face indicate broader movements of repression that consequently affect society as a whole....The following is an illustrative (although for security reasons not exhaustive) list of notable incidents that have occurred in the last quarter:

AUSTRALIA – dissident Chinese cartoonist Badiucao receives death threats via social media on a continuous basis, but these intensified while he reported on events in China and in particular his illustrated 'Wuhan diary'.

GAZA STRIP – cartoonist Ismael el-Bozom detained by Hamas personnel, spat upon, interrogated.

BOLIVIA – cartoonist Abecor receives death threats via Facebook.

IRAN – cartoons posted on social media leads to arrest of journalists.

PERU – cartoonist Carlín receives death threats over cartoon on first anniversary of former president’s su***de.

SWEDEN – Palestinian cartoonist Mahmoud Abbas subjected to mass trolling, death threats from Twitter users in Saudi Arabia.

UGANDA – cartoonist Jimmy Spire Ssentongo among those prevented from leaving coronavirus quarantine despite negative testing, resorts to hunger strike.

BANGLADESH – cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore among multiple arrests under Digital Security Act, denied bail.

HUNGARY – cartoonist Gábor Pápai accused of blasphemy and sued by ruling KDNP.

USA – cartoonist and syndicate operator Daryl Cagle writes to his congressional representative warning of collapse in industry and regression in press freedom.

SPAIN – cartoonist Miguel Villalba Sánchez’s page is summarily deleted, prevented from signing in again under his own name; cites fact-checkers under contract to Spanish government.

JORDAN – cartoonist Rafat Alkhateeb pressured to remove caricature of Prime Minister Al-Razzaz from Facebook."

Excerpt of an article by Cartoonists Rights Network International

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HERALDS RENEWED THREAT TO CARTOONISTS CRNI, Cartoon Movement and Cartooning For Peace warn that amid 2020’s pandemic the global community of cartoonists could be irrevocably damaged. Economic depression will lead to losses but fa…

"In the last twenty-four hours two very alarming stories have broken out of Brazil and gained the attention of the world’s cartooning community.

As reported by Folha de S.Paolo, the paper and four of its contributing cartoonists – Alberto Benett, Laerte Coutinho, João Montanaro and Claudio Mor – are being sued by Defenda PM, a conservative military police body, who say cartoons published in December 2019 'embarrassed' their members. The cartoons were critical of reported incidents of brutality, a record of violence that has quite tellingly been omitted from government records....In a second incident, blogger Ricardo Noblat and cartoonist Renato Aroeira face a criminal investigation for 'false imputation, slander or defamation' following a cartoon that portrays Bolsonaro daubing paint over a medical red cross, making it a sw****ka....Both incidents form part of the ongoing decline of media freedom in Brazil and represent excellent examples of precisely the phenomena CRNI and our allies at Cartooning For Peace and Cartoon Movement warned about at the start of the week – creeping authoritarianism, isolationism, exceptionalism and hypersensitivity to criticism that, combined with measures taken to combat COVID-19, have created a highly inhospitable working environment for cartoonists everywhere....Index on Censorship’s tracker of incidents during the coronavirus pandemic has logged several problems in Brazil, from Bolsonaro claiming the virus was a media trick through to the supreme court compelling his government to release accurate death statistics. Reporters Without Borders demoted Brazil in their 2020 rankings, saying the president had been 'feeding a climate of hate and suspicion towards journalism' and Human Rights Watch described an administration 'openly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), particularly those defending the environment and Indigenous peoples’ rights.'”

Excerpt of an article by The Cartoonists Rights Network International

Cartoonists targeted in Bolsonaro’s Brazil Two incidents unfolding in Brazil provide further confirmation that President Bolsonaro’s regime has been a disaster for free expression.

A cartoon for the August 26, 2020 Philippine News Today. The recent killings of Zara Alvarez and Randall Echanis are just the latest examples of the consequences of the red-tagging of leftists and human rights activists.

Angelo | The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is a professional association concerned with promoting the interests of staff, freelance and student editorial cartoonists in the United States.

A cartoon for the August 12, 2020 Philippine News Today. Supporters of democracy and human rights are increasingly being harassed and intimidated by the Rodrigo Duterte government.

Historically, the first groups to oppose authoritarian governments have been leftists, the Church, journalists, human rights activists, students, lawyers, artists and indigenous rights activists. At first, these opposing groups seem small and ineffectual. But as time goes on and the oppression grows, their critiques of the government become increasingly influential. The opposition to authoritarian governments becomes effective when the middle class joins in opposing the government.

Duterte knows this history. So from the very beginning of his administration, he has attacked these groups so they do not have a chance to coalesce and become an effective check on his power.

https://www.editorialcartoonists.com/cartoonists/lopeza/cartoons/2020-2/08-12-2020-aaec/

Angelo |

On July 18, 2018, Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) spoke on the House Floor about protecting and strengthening the right of all Americans to vote, especially in face of the threats facing American democracy today, and in support of H.R. 12, the Voter Empowerment Act

Rep. John Lewis on the Right to Vote Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) speaks on the House Floor about protecting and strengthening the right of all Americans to vote, especially in face of the thre...

Xernona Clayton talked at John Lewis's funeral about introducing John Lewis to his wife Lillian Miles.

Clayton began her career in the Civil Rights Movement with the National Urban League in Chicago, working undercover to investigate racial discrimination committed by employers against African Americans. Clayton moved to Atlanta in 1965, where she organized events for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), under the direction of Martin Luther King. She developed a deep friendship with Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King.

In 1966, Clayton coordinated the Doctors' Committee for Implementation, a group of African American physicians who worked for and achieved the desegregation of all Atlanta hospitals.

Clayton then headed the Atlanta Model Cities program, a federally funded group dedicated to improving the quality of desegregated neighborhoods. Clayton met Calvin Craig, the Grand Dragon of the Georgia Ku Klux Klan, through the Model Cities program. They built an unusual relationship based on daily debates about their differing views on race and society. Surprising everyone, Craig resigned from the Klan in 1968, denouncing the organization and crediting Clayton for his conversion.

In 1967, Clayton became the first Southern African American to host a daily prime time talk show, The Xernona Clayton Show. Clayton joined Turner Broadcasting in 1979 as a producer of documentary specials. In 1988, Turner Broadcasting promoted Clayton to corporate vice president for urban affairs, assigning her to direct Turner projects and serve as a liaison between Turner Broadcasting and civic groups in Atlanta and throughout the country.

In 1993, Clayton, with Turner Broadcasting, created the Trumpet Awards to honor achievements of African Americans.

Xernona Clayton recounts introducing John Lewis to his wife Lillian Miles | John Lewis funeral Xernona Clayton is a close friend to the Lewis family and the founder of the Trumpet Foundation. 11Alive is Where Atlanta Speaks. We believe that news should...

Rev. James Lawson trained many future leaders of the civil rights movement, including a young John Lewis, in the practice of nonviolence. Lawson spoke at Lewis' funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and vowed, "We will not be quiet."

During the 1950s, James Lawson went as a Methodist missionary to Nagpur, India, where he studied satyagraha, a form of nonviolence resistance developed by Mohandas Gandhi and his followers. Lawson moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and enrolled at the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University, where he served as the southern director for CORE and began conducting nonviolence training workshops for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in his church basement in 1958. In Nashville, he trained many of the future leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, among them Diane Nash, James Bevel, Bernard Lafayette, Marion Barry, and John Lewis. In 1959 and 1960, they and other Lawson-trained activists launched the Nashville sit-ins to challenge segregation in downtown stores. In February 1960, following the lunch sit-ins by students at the Woolworth's stores in Greensboro, North Carolina,

Lawson's students played a leading role in the Open Theater Movement, the Freedom Rides, the 1963 March on Washington, Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade, the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement, the 1966 Chicago Open Housing Movement, and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement over the next few years.

In 1961, Lawson helped develop strategy for the Freedom Riders. In 1968, when black sanitation workers began the Memphis Sanitation Strike for higher wages and union recognition after two of their co-workers were accidentally crushed to death, Reverend Lawson served as chairman of their strike committee. He co-founded the Committee on the Move to Equality (COME).

Lawson moved to Los Angeles in 1974, where he was pastor of Holman United Methodist Church. While in Los Angeles, he was active in the labor movement, the American Civil Liberties Union, and movements for reproductive choice and gay rights. He has continued to train activists in nonviolence and supports immigrants' rights in the United States, the rights of Palestinians, and workers' rights to a living wage.

Rev. James Lawson speaks at John Lewis' funeral Rev. James Lawson trained many future leaders of the civil rights movement, including a young John Lewis, in the practice of nonviolence. Lawson spoke at Lew...

Voter purges are a means of removing ineligible voter registrations from the rolls — meant to clean up the system. But what happens when aggressive purges end up getting rid of the registrations of eligible voters?

Critics say states like Georgia and Ohio - purging through “exact match” or “use it or lose it” laws - are disproportionately eliminating thousands of minority voters from the system.

What states are doing them, how do they work, and what should you do if you find out you’ve been purged?

Why American voter registrations are disappearing And how to avoid the purge. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Voter purges are a means of removing ineligible voter registrations from the rolls...

"Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook", a film from American Issues Initiative, reveals the decades-long strategy to disenfranchise non-white voters.

The dangerous toll this strategy is taking on the sacred principle of "one person/one vote” is not lost on Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) who says, “I fear that young people will not have the kind of democracy that I experienced.”

During the 2016 election, the filmmakers went on the road to see how this voter suppression playbook would be put to use.

In Cumberland County, North Carolina, the filmmakers capture a voter purge where the names of over 6,000 registered voters were removed by the clandestine efforts of a group called Voter Integrity Project. They then find and profile a wrongly purged Cumberland voter who is turned away at the polling place.
In Edwards County, Texas, which is 50 percent Latino, the filmmakers profile a Latino voter who was jailed for voter fraud by a Republican sheriff seeking re-election. Matt Angle, a Texas native and Democratic strategist, says, “The whole idea is to make voting seem like a dangerous proposition—that it’s something that might get you in trouble.”

In Jefferson City, Missouri, the filmmakers are there as the Missouri legislature votes to put on the November, 2016, ballot an amendment mandating voter ID. Cassandra Gould, the daughter of a 1960’s civil rights worker, says, “Voter restriction laws are dancing on my mother’s grave.” Voter ID is now the law in Missouri.

The film notes that one thing did, in fact, go right during the 2016 elections. In the summer in 2016, federal courts overturned or amended voter restriction laws or voter purges in Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina.

The 2018 midterms saw more than its fair share of voter suppression efforts, particularly in Georgia and Florida, but it also witnessed the passage of numerous citizen-led anti-gerrymandering initiatives. And in Florida, voters did away with a law that prevented over a million felons in Florida from being able to vote.

Inside the Decades-Long Republican Campaign to Suppress the Vote Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, a new film from American Issues Initiative, reveals for the first time and in frightening detail the dark, partisan g...