This past Sunday, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill attended a church service in Selma to commemorate the major civil and voting rights milestones achieved 52 years prior. For those not familiar with Merrill, he’s an ardent defender of the state’s voter ID law and an opponent of automatic voter registration efforts in Alabama. By no definition is he an advocate for voting rights.
But Merrill didn’t stop at crashing the service at Brown Chapel AME, he used the celebration as an opportunity to promote the state’s voter ID law. In response, church-goers alongside Rev. William Barber walked out of the service.
Outside the church, Rev. Barber told a reporter, “I don't care if you came as secretary of state, to stand up and tell another lie, to push the lie of voter ID and confuse people, normalize it, on a day when the nation is watching. You cannot come and stand in that pulpit and promote a voter suppression tactic and then we just sit there.”
I think most of us are left wondering: What the f@#$% was John Merrill thinking?
Back in February 2016, I had the opportunity to interview Secretary Merrill for my documentary Answering the Call - the American Struggle for the Right to Vote. Alabama had recently elected to close 31 DMV locations across the state but had also passed a voter ID law which required voters to present photo identification at the polls.
Merrill assured me that this decision had “nothing to do with race” but was “all about money” — fast forward a year later and the Department of Transformation would rule that the closures were indeed racial, forcing Alabama to reopen the closed offices.
My documentary was released at election time and Merrill’s interview immediately served as an ominous reminder for the need to restore the Voting Rights Act in 2017. As my interview with Merrill came to a close, I asked about his opposition to automatic voter registration reforms and was met with defensive dog whistling racism:
“If you’re too sorry or lazy to get up off of your rear and to go register to vote, or to register electronically, and then to go vote, then you don’t deserve that privilege. As long as I’m Secretary of State of Alabama, you’re going to have to show some initiative to become a registered voter in this state.”
He went as far to say that automatically registering people to vote would “cheapen the work” of civil rights heroes of the past. Let that sink in.
The blowback on Merrill was immediate with both Congresswoman Terri Sewell and the Southern Poverty Law Center issuing statements.
On Sunday night, my brother forwarded me the story of Rev. Barber leading a walkout at Brown Chapel—it included my interview with Secretary Merrill and his ridiculous Twitter threat to me after the film was released. I was excited to see that the documentary was still raising questions and debate surrounding voter suppression in America, but it also caused to me to again reflect on how someone like John Merrill could be elected to such an important position of power.
The last question I had asked Secretary Merrill was, “Do you recall any instances of growing up with racial divide in America?”
His response:
“I really don’t have memories of racial division in our state”.
Merrill’s entire response transcribed:
“I really don’t have memories of racial division in our state. From the time that I started school we were integrated. As a matter of fact, one of the things that occurred during the Civil Rights struggle that was epic, was the burning of the buses for the Freedom Riders as they went across the south. And one of those incidences occurred in Calhoun County in Anniston, which is about 15 miles from where I’m from. And I never knew anything about it until I became a student at the University of Alabama.”
I grew up in a predominantly white school. I can empathize with not learning this history. My public education taught me that Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s cured our nation of racism. But as an adult member of society, and especially as an elected government official, it is his obligation to understand that African Americans and other minorities are still battling to overcome many of the same barriers of the 1960’s. Integration did not end racism like the Voting Rights Act didn’t stop states from looking for new ways to suppress the vote.
The day after our interview, I asked Alabama State Senator and Selma resident Hank Sanders for his thoughts on Secretary Merrill’s response:
“Either he’s completely blind or he’s not telling the truth. I don’t think anybody could grow up in Alabama and not realize there’s a racial divide. I mean, even if you’re the least bit honest with yourself.”
I guess it doesn’t matter in the end; whether he is blindly racist or being dishonest in his intentions, Secretary Merrill is clearly unable to oversee a fair and unbiased election process in Alabama — a state history rich with voter suppression. It is Secretary Merrill’s ideology and inability to understand this world outside his southern white lens that has led to a regression in voting rights in America. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.
I want to believe that Secretary Merrill and the GOP are just blind to racism and that these calls for more restrictive voting legislation are a result of that. But realistically, the truth is probably far more sinister. Restricting access to the polls benefits the Republican Party and these measures look to be a last ditch effort to retain voice for the future of the party.
Watch Brian Jenkins most recent documentary Answering the Call: the American Struggle for the Right to Vote on iTunes, Amazon, Vimeo, or DVD