DANIEL MCCLOUD

Imagine the year is 1787. The specific period is May 25 to Sept. 17. The place is any of the more than 46,000 plantations across the deep south, in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc. It’s early, before dawn. And despite the early dawn, the heat is already oppressive. Almost as unjust as those who owned the plantation. The hopeless mood was even more so upon realizing that today would be no different than the previous day, when the prospect of being beaten, raped, lynched, or sold away is more than a likelihood but a guarantee.

But luckily for those enslaved miles away in Philadelphia, the Constitutional Convention was being held. A group of men had gathered and been tasked with the duty of creating a stronger central government than the one found in the Articles of Confederation. Luckily for the enslaved folk down on the plantations, these men were also discussing and making provisions for them — though unsurprisingly, not in a good way.

The U.S. Constitution of 1787 contained several clauses specifically directed at slavery, including the three-fifths compromise, the African slave trade clause, and the fugitive slave clause.

• Fugitive slave clause: Requires the return of runaway slaves to their owners
• Federal government power: Gives the federal government the power to suppress domestic rebellions, including slave insurrections.
• Atlantic slave trade: Prohibits Congress from outlawing the Atlantic slave trade for 20 years.
• Discourage importation: Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 allows Congress to discourage the importation of enslaved people from abroad by imposing a duty of up to $10 per person, but early Congresses never enacted such measures.
• Three-fifths clause: Three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state’s total population for legislative representation, taxation, and presidential electors.

Now imagine that you are returning to a run-down shack on one of these plantations, thanking God that you have made it another day and have no idea that these clauses have been enacted, never realizing that irony that for someone who is considered nothing more than chattel, meant so much to the country. Further irony is that without human rights, you were somehow meaningful enough to decide elections. In essence, the Constitution protected slavery, not the enslaved.

Numerous scholars view these clauses as the first evidence of systemic racism by the Founders of this country. I also see it as evidence of how those in power make the rules and laws. And how do we combat this? By taking greater action to determine who is in power. The best way to do that is to vote!!!

Don’t let anyone tell you that your votes don’t matter. That’s saying that you don’t matter, and we all matter. Just think of those people on the plantations who had no rights but dreamed of one day when their children’s children’s children would. Think of all of the people who fought and died so that we all could have the right to vote. And if voting wasn’t important, why did we have to fight for the right to it? As the civil rights icon John Lewis famously said, “My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union.”