"I knew that I could vote and that that wasn't a privilege; it was my right. Every time I tried I was shot, killed or jailed, beaten or economically deprived"

This quote by Stokely Carmichael speaks to the battle of African Americans to exercise their right to vote in the United States. In Spite Of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which approved African Americans the right to vote, they were still denied this right through different means. Carmichael is stating that he understood that ballot was his right, however whenever he attempted to exercise it, he was consulted with violence, jail time, or financial deprivation. This quote talks to the systemic bigotry and injustice that African Americans faced in the United States, and the lengths they needed to go to in order to exercise their right to vote. It is an effective pointer of the value of voting and the need to ensure that everyone has access to this right.