Thanks to @asheville & @CaseyBlakeAVL for publishing my piece on why we should eliminate the Literacy Test from the NC Constitution this year: …https://ashevillecitizentimes-nc.newsmemory.com/?publink=1c673013b_1345be2 #ncpol #ncga (1/10) #ncpol

I hope you'll read the piece, but a few additional things/pieces of evidence: First, here's the relevant language from the NC Constitution. (2/10) #ncpol

I won't get into it here, but most good histories of the Jim Crow era, southern politics or the long civil rights movement will cover the literacy test, in case you're unfamiliar. The evidence about its roots and racist intent are clear (3/10) #ncpol

The best chance we had to get rid of it was in the last re-write of the NC Constitution. Henry Frye, the first African American representative in the #NCGA since Reconstruction proposed a bill to place elimination of the literacy test to a vote of the people.(4/10) #ncpol

The bill passed both houses easily & upon passage, Frye was “jubilant." Newspaper coverage at the time suggested that it would pass easily (5/10) #ncpol

So—it appeared on the ballot, along with 6 other items. Here’s a clip of the sample ballot (6/10) #ncpol

Despite expectations that it would pass, the literacy test was the only 1 of the amendments on the ballot that failed. It wasn’t even particularly close—only 44% of NC voters supported elimination of the literacy test (7/10) #ncpol

There were various times since when there were proposals to eliminate the literacy test ,but the most recent chance was in 2019 w/this bipartisan bill that ultimately never made it out of the #NCGA https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookup/2019/H314 (8/10) #ncpol

I'm far from the 1st person to call for the elimination of the literacy test. For ex. @RaleighReporter called it "pretty gross to still have it on the books"

& @andyinrok called it “a barnacle on NCs ship of state that should be scraped off as soon as possible.” (9/10) #ncpol

Bottom line: this one isn't hard. Everyone agrees that the literacy test is racist. It shouldn't be enshrined in our state's constitution. Let's get rid of it. (10/10) #ncpol