To the editor:

I would like to offer a different perspective to a review of my opinion piece by Ricky Keil published on May 22.

Mr. Keil is correct that the 15th Amendment gave equal voting rights to all U.S. citizens. However, in about 1877 the Jim Crow era reared its ugly head to establish a separate but equal society. Violent intimidation prevented many people from voting. I urge people to look up the history of the Jim Crow era for themselves to find out what was happening at that time in our history. The Civil Rights Act finally put an end to Jim Crow laws and ushered in an era where U.S. citizens could exercise their right to vote without the fear of intimidation.

Mr. Keil also mentioned that the 3/5 compromise was about reducing the power of the south. Seriously? That compromise gave the south the representation they did not deserve while still keeping people not only in bondage but stating that they were only 3/5th a human being. 

Please remember that a democracy only survives when we participate by using our precious right to vote. We can together keep this experiment of freedom alive and thriving. 

Please vote!

Kae Luppens

Lemay