by john a. powell

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day this year, it is critical to reflect on the state of our democracy. Of late, questioning today's political trends has been portrayed by those in government and the media as unpopular and unpatriotic, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is times such as these that our fragile democracy demands that we question government actions, protect freedom of expression and do all that we can to ensure that citizens are fully engaged.

Martin Luther King, Jr. energized people across the nation to break down racial barriers and push for the creation of a genuinely democratic
nation, one in which all citizens have the opportunity to fully participate. Unfairness to some, King reasoned, undermines democracy for all.

In a 1963 letter from a Birmingham jail cell, King stated: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly . . . Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere in this country."

King understood racial and economic justice as the essential prerequisites to creating a just society -- the foundations of his vision of the "beloved community."

In King's view, achieving this vision would require more than simply opening doors to existing institutions and opportunities. Fundamental changes would have to be made to this nation's democratic structures. King commented to one reporter: "For years I labored with the idea of reforming the existing institutions of the society, a little change here, a little change there. Now I feel quite differently. I think you've got to have a
reconstruction of the entire society."

Attack on democracy

In the name of anti-terrorism, our nation has embraced a series of policies that abandon perhaps the most elemental and crucial tenet of our society: fair treatment of all citizens by the government. In lieu of this most fundamental of democratic protections, our federal government has adopted a panicked, racist, and unfair agenda. The changes in some of these protections is reminiscent of the McCarthy era, which most of us condemn in hindsight while supporting similar tactics today.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's order authorizing law enforcement officials to listen in on the confidential attorney-client communications of individuals being held, rightly or wrongly, in federal custody is just one example of how we have cast aside one of the essential principles of democracy.

Freezing Somali assets and detaining and questioning thousands of individuals of Arab descent and others without charge are additional examples of how quick we have been to discard our democratic principles when fear rather than fairness prevails.

This latest crisis of democracy comes only a year after our highly suspect presidential election. Ultimately, during the fall of 2000, the constitutional right to vote and have that vote counted was flat out eliminated for many people of color and others throughout the nation.

These recent trends illustrate all too pointedly that fair treatment of all citizens by the government in this nation has been more of an aspiration than a reality. And the current crisis of our failure to live up to these principles can be understood as a culmination - and symptom - of our larger democratic failures.

Persistent inequalities

Indeed, persistent inequalities in the most basic areas of many people's lives demonstrate our failure to achieve a truly democratic state. It is not a coincidence that when one fails to have an equal voice, policies fail to support them equally.

King called for equality in terms of access to schools, parks, libraries, restaurants, and housing at the same time that he vigorously pursued a broader agenda, one that would mean "infinitely more to the nation than the eradication of racial injustice. It will have enlarged the concept of brotherhood to a vision of total interrelatedness," in his words.

Here in Minnesota, ethnic minorities, and women clearly do not have the same access to basic human needs and life opportunities such as safe and affordable housing, a high quality education, sustaining employment, and other opportunities that are enjoyed by others.

Social disparities show our true colors as a society. Here are just a few examples of where our democratic failures have translated directly into persistent social failures

• Seventy-seven percent of white families in Minnesota own a home, while homes are owned by only 32 percent of African-American families and 43 percent of Latino families, according to research by ACORN released in October.
  
• While African Americans make up 10 percent of the adults in St. Paul, they comprise 26 percent of the drivers stopped by law enforcement officials, and 43 percent of the individuals searched, according to an Institute on Race & Poverty report on St. Paul police traffic stops.
  
• An African-American man in Minnesota is 27 times more likely than a white man to be incarcerated. Only the District of Columbia has a worse ratio, according to Human Rights Watch.
  
• African-American and Native American infant mortality rates are two to four times higher than those of whites in Minnesota, according to the state department of health.
  
• Eighty-three percent of whites graduated in four years from Minnesota high schools in 1999, compared to 39 percent of African-American and 48 percent of Latino students, reports the Office of Educational Accountability.

System permits the poor to be disenfranchised

Despite a wealth of studies that describe large racial disparities in critical life areas, such as education, employment, and health, we too often fail to recognize the interconnected, interdependent nature of these inequalities and the fact that the persistence of inequality across all life areas suggests a deeper failing on our part. Just as Nobel-prize winning economist Amartya Sen has observed that no truly democratic nation has experienced famine, we must question whether a truly democratic nation would experience centuries of racial inequality. In a society where all members realize the right to influence policies and political processes, it does not seem possible that these policies and practices could so consistently harm and neglect some sectors of society to the benefit and privilege of others.

While it is common knowledge that current campaign financing practices and political practices privilege the interests of certain actors and groups, most of us fail to understand the extent to which these exclusionary practices limit the political participation and voice of those adversely affected by today's social disparities. In order for us to have a realistic chance at reducing these disparities, these connections must become more vivid.

For example, voting is inaccessible for low-income and minority people when incumbents, with little interest in including them, make decisions about the polling locations, times and staffing of elections. Voters who work long shifts and rely on public transportation may find it difficult if not impossible to fit voting into the designated timeframe.

Even more troubling is the permanent disenfranchisement of convicted felons in 13 of our states. Given the well-documented racism in our criminal justice system, it is no wonder that persons of color are disproportionately affected. A study by Human Rights Watch revealed that nearly 18 percent of African-American men in Minnesota do not currently have the right to vote.

'Winner-take-all' bias

Beyond such discriminatory voting practices lurks our current majoritarian electoral system. Almost all major elections in the United States are based on the "winner-take-all" principle. This system undermines the concept of fair representation. It also distorts democracy by allowing a single group to monopolize power. As a result of this system, while 90 percent of Southern blacks voted for former Vice President Al Gore during the last presidential election, not a single one of these votes was counted by our Electoral College.

Our current campaign finance system also distorts our democracy. It disadvantages non-contributors, who are far more likely to be low-income individuals, effectively shutting them out of the democratic process. Their inability to contribute the funds needed to elect and influence lawmakers and to finance special interest groups results in a lack of meaningful legislation in key life areas, including affordable housing, healthcare and criminal justice.

A group of Twin Cities advocates, deeply concerned about the state of democracy in the United States, began to meet on a regular basis after last year's election. Eventually, we organized under the moniker, "Citizens for Democracy." Our long-term goal is to advocate for a more inclusive democracy - one that empowers all voices.

To this end, we are convening a conference in downtown Minneapolis on Jan. 26 entitled, "Breaking Barriers, Building Democracy: A Call to Establish Political Inclusion and Equality." Our goal is to convene all advocates and citizens concerned with the exclusionary practices and structures of our democratic process and to fashion action steps to begin to remedy them.

Now is not the time to allow the tragedy of Sept. 11 to take our eyes off our vision for an inclusive democracy. Now, more than ever, is the time to end disenfranchisement and to fight together for a more inclusive democracy.

King put it well when he said: "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

Our hope is to make this conference a step in that direction.

By john a. powell, Minneapolis. powell is a law professor and the executive director and founder of the Institute on Race & Poverty at the University of Minnesota Law School.