For Immediate Release (reprint with credit)
Date: January 8, 2026
By: Charles Blatcher, III – Chairman
The National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations
America has its royalty, a King — the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. The National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations has elected to commemorate MLK’s birthday by advancing a cause that he championed, the Right to Vote. While the United States Supreme Court reviews the 1965 Voting Rights Act, let’s take the opportunity to examine and question the motivation behind the landmark legislation. Was the real intent to correct the discriminatory practice of denying the vote to Black Americans? Or was the real motivation to camouflage the advancement of a government plan to remove a substantial portion of Black youths from the country in a time of political/economic/social turmoil.
People who experienced that era understand the major challenges the country encountered when the 1965 Voting Rights Act came into effect. However, members of the younger generation have little if any knowledge of how and why the Act came about. The nation was just two years past the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Vietnam Conflict protest that began in the early 1960’s had exploded into a national movement in 1965. Simultaneously, the Civil Rights unrest of the era had intensified. Black Power and the chant of “Burn Baby Burn” echoed in urban cities nationwide. Unemployment among Black males exceeded fifty percent. The governmental escalation of the conflict in Vietnam provided a place, and the Draft was a means to remove a substantial number of unemployed Black youth from the country. Meanwhile the Johnson Administration, Civil Rights leaders and the Black communities celebrated the signing of the Voting Rights Act. The latter two parties were unaware of the government’s act of deception. The truth became known later, as casualty reports from 1965 to 1968 exposed the deception of the signing. Black GIs constituted a disproportionate amount of the injured and killed in the Vietnam war.
In hindsight, we ought to have demanded inclusion in laws ensuring our right to vote with everyone else, instead of pursuing a separate measure that would require later approval. I mention the latter not to point criticism at past leaders. Inclusion should be a basic right for everyone because special concessions are revocable. A decision from the Supreme Court of the United States this term may reduce the strength of or even overturn the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
There are no doubts Reverend Dr. King and the others Civil Rights Leaders of the era had no idea or indication of the government’s plan to use Black GIs as cannon fodder. The Black community needed something to celebrate at that critical moment in history, because of the dire political/economic/social conditions of the time. The ceremonial signing boosted confidence in our leadership’s ability to produce what appeared at the time as positive results. We acknowledge past Black leadership for providing the moral and spiritual uplift needed for that moment in American History.
In respect, the National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations have designated Dr. King’s upcoming birthday as the start-up for our Veterans Voter’s Registration Campaign. The campaign will run through the year with a goal of achieving a record turnout for the 2026 Midterm Election in November. This initiative is nationwide, and we have invited the NAACP through its Veterans Affairs Committee, the Common Defense Association and other veteran and church/civic and social organizations to join the effort. We are encouraging Veterans and Black and Brown Americans to register as a show of respect for Dr. King and the fallen GI’s who sacrificed their lives in the name of Equal Rights. In most states, you can register from the comfort of your home. Please click the image below to go to registration page on the “SALUTE TO A KING” Poster.
Let us work collaboratively to achieve meaningful change.
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