(The Root) — The Democratic National Convention is partly a massive get-out-the-vote effort for President Barack Obama and other Democrats on the ballot this November. But the controversy over the voter-ID laws that have popped up across the country — laws that critics liken to Jim Crow voter-suppression tactics — has added a more urgent bent to the proceedings.
At a town hall meeting about the issue, as well as on his radio show, The Root's contributing editor Elon James White talked to and heard remarks from leaders and activists such as NAACP President Ben Jealous, political strategist Donna Brazile, actress America Ferrera and more.
Roslyn Brock, chairman of the National Board of Directors of the NAACP, also talked about the importance of voting in general and staying informed. "We can't leave it to someone else to tell us why this is important," she said. "If we're living in a society where we live, where we breathe, where we shop, where we go to school — all of that is impacted by the political process. Even when you die, it's governed by the political process."
For more of this special DNC edition of This Week in Blackness 2.0, brought to you by The Root, watch the video below.