MovieChat Forums > Ghosts of Mississippi (1997) Discussion > director and Mrs. Evers on Oprah Winfrey

director and Mrs. Evers on Oprah Winfrey

posted 17 years ago by siobanphotogirl
5 replies | jump to latest

oddly enough, I have yet to see the whole film. I kept catching it about halfway through late at night. It bothered me so much that such a good movie was on late at night when far fewer people would be watching it, and yet the networks would put on mindless 'entertainment' like Scream movies during prime time...

but around the time the movie came out, I remember seeing Rob Reiner and Mrs. Evers on the Oprah Winfrey show.

in a touching moment, Mrs. Evers presented Rob Reiner (who got very emotional)with the little certificate Medgar Evers had in his wallet/pocket when he was shot. It even had some blood spots on it. The certificate gave him the right to vote in elections. Mrs. Evers explained that while white people were born with the right to vote (and in my opinion many are not all that smart to begin with--this is a point to contrast the following: ), African AMERICANS **had to take a test** with some ridiculous questions in it. The example of a question Mrs. Evers gave was (and I remember this like it was yesterday:)

"How many bubbles are there in a bar of soap?"

so if an African American couldn't answer that question--or questions like it-- correctly, he was not competent enough to vote?!

it reminds me of the flaming hoops Lily Harper had to jump through to be able to vote in the civil rights drama series "I'll Fly Away" (also starring Sam Waterston, Jeremy London, and the little girl who played one of Medgar Evers children when he was shot, and Tonya Haily in "A Time to Kill")

[–] rhinestone_sunglasses 17 years ago

woah, bubbles of soap? I am damned embarassed to be a cracker at times.

He was waiting...inhumanly impatient for this night.--Doctor Loomis

[–] jtyroler 17 years ago

It's amazing how people tried to prevent people from voting - unfortunately, it's still happening. In Missouri, you're required to show a valid ID. An expired or revoked driver's license could prevent you from voting. Also, to renew your license or state ID, you need to have a certified copy of your birth certificate (it's impossible for some people, especially those born in rural areas and difficult if you've been adopted). You also need copies of marriage licenses and divorce decrees. There are estimates that in Missouri, between 200,000 and 250,000 people won't be able to vote because of these rules.

Ironically, when this was first presented to the state supreme court in 2006, one of the justices who didn't drive, but kept his expired license, would not be allowed to vote.

[–] siobanphotogirl 16 years ago

what kind of place *would not* even require a valid ID to let someone into the voting booth? ...You have to prove who you are on the voter's list!

[–] SaphfireRose 16 years ago

what kind of place *would not* even require a valid ID to let someone into the voting booth?

In Australia.
America always seems to do everything the complicated way. In Australia, you don't show any ID at all. Voting is compulsory and everyone of voting age 18+ is required to be on the electoral roll. At the polling booth, you go in and the people at the desk have a print-out in a book, a register of the entire electoral roll for that state. You go up, give your surname, they check the spelling, first and middle names on the roll, ask if you've voted in this election before, put a line on the roll trhough your name and give you your ballot papers. None of this Driver's Licence or Birth Certificate BS. My god, how many people would have that stuff in their back pockets? America's system sounds so full of red tape and so confusing. In Australia, you just rock up, get your name crossed off. Simple as that. And since every booth roll is checked and every pre-poll and absentee votes are checked and all names crossed off and double-checked against the Electoral Roll, there is no electoral rorting. So even if you voted at one booth, and then at another on the same day, you would be caught out, because your name would be crossed off at 2 places. Which equals hefty fines and jail time. Its a very simple and uncomplicated process.

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[–] Mysteriously_Eerie 10 years ago

In The United States, we are still united states to a degree. Voting requirements change from state to state. But in all the states I've lived in, I've never been asked to show an ID or any other form of identification to vote. All you do is say your name, watch as your name gets crossed off the list of registered voters, sign by your name, and then vote. It's that simple.

There are starting to be new voter ID laws, so this could change. Requiring proof of identification to vote is kind of silly. It would be easier to simply buy off voters than it would to organize mass voting identity fraud. Can you imagine the logistics of stealing tens of thousands of votes through identity theft in such a way that you wouldn't get caught?