Not To Disfranchise Us

Virginian Legislators move to hold a Constitutional convention in order to “disfranchise” African American voters

It is reported that Gov. J. Hoge Tyler so reluctantly affixed his signature to the bill providing for the holding of a constitutional convention that when he completed the act, he involuntarily exclaimed “God save common wealth!” This convention has been ordered for the avowed purpose of violating the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which Gov. Tyler and every other member of that body are sworn to maintain and support. In the blind effort to strike down the citizen of color, these prejudiced Virginians are endangering the safety of the commonwealth itself. Article XV of the Federal Constitution reads: “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” We do not need any Supreme Court of the United States to construe that provision for us. It is specific and plain. A child can understand it. Every citizen, white and colored, is sworn to respect that provision of the law. And yet demagogues are boldly announcing that they are about to hold a constitutional convention for the purpose of taking away from Negroes only their rights to vote. Prominent Democratic journals, presumed to be of character and of standing are openly advocating the doctrine to disfranchise no white man, but disqualify all colored ones. Is it at all surprising then that in the face of such degeneracy, the Chief Executive of this state should exclaim “God save the commonwealth!” But there are other white men who are equally astounded at the apparent disregard of law and contempt for principles. We have noted some soul-stirring articles from the former slave-holding white men, who were reared by black mammies, but nothing has stirred us more than the following extract from the news-columns of the Richmond, Va., Dispatch of the 28 instant: “Ex-Governor Charles T. O’Ferrall has been mentioned in complimentary terms as a valuable man for the constitutional convention, and one Virginia paper has come out editorially for him. As a matter of fact, however, Colonel O’Ferrall hasn’t given a single thought to such a thing. He is immersed in a big law practice which precludes all discussion of politics or semi-political things during business hours. Among close friends the ex-Governor is willing to gossip about public affairs, but the doors of his law office are closed against such talk. Colonel O’Ferrall told an intimate acquaintance a day or so ago that personally he was an anti-convention man, and that he thought any constitutional reforms which seemed needed should be submitted to the people in the shape of amendments, as the existing Constitution permits. He thinks the suffrage question an exceedingly delicate one, and is of the opinion that a sweeping effort to disfranchise the Negro might prove a boomerang. Moreover, he believes in giving deserving Negroes a show, especially as white men brought the Ethiopions here. Furthermore, this is a very democratic country and too much severity along the disfranchising line would be utterly inconsistent with republican institutions. In Colonel O’Ferrall’s opinion, the educational qualifications is a risky thing too. ‘During the war,’ said he, ‘I had many men in my command who had to sign their names with a cross mark, but when it came to doing their duty and fighting—or good, sound sense, either, for that matter—they were fully equals, if not superiors, of some college bred fellows I have seen. To deprive these men of their vote would be utterly wrong. ‘No sir,’ continued the ex-Governor, ‘I would rather see all the Negroes in the state voting than have one good white man disfranchised.’ These sentiments dropped from Colonel O’Ferall’s lips in a very hasty and informal conversation with a friend and by no means belong to that class of newspaper ‘interviews’ which are prepared beforehand.” Ex-Governor O’Ferall stated the whole case in a nut-shell. His position is terse and yet to the point and in keeping with the high standard which he always sets. He lives not for today: he is making history for his children tomorrow. The ex-Governor is truly magnetic and some day when prejudice has had its sway and reason seeks its throne, he will be called to lead the hosts of true democracy. And it continues: “The allusion which the Times made a week ago to the strong and somewhat unexpected sentiment in the Virginia Democracy against wholesale disfranchisement of the Negro, has created interest and excited general comment. Hon. William A. Jones, the Congressman from the First Virginia District, is the latest public man to express his concurrence in such views. Mr. Jones quoted as saying that he is opposed to any election law that will disqualify a single white voter in the State, and that the respectable element of Negroes should not be denied the right of suffrage that is given by the Constitution of the United States. He thinks the chief object of the convention should be to make an up to date Constitution and believing that the right of suffrage is very little abused, he sees no necessity for sweeping changes in the organic law Mr. Jones is further quotes as saying: ‘I wish to state again that I believe that any wholesale disfranchisement of the Negro other classes will be detrimental to the State, and I am opposed to any such action. Of course, the vicious should not be allowed to vote. A remedy can easily be found for this. Whatever the result of the Constitutional Convention should be the instrument submitted to the people. They should be the judges of what they want in this most important matter.’’ Couple this with the declaration made to us by prominent white Virginian Democrat that the Negro will not be disfranchised by the Constitutional Convention and the situation is decidedly interesting. The latter had given us, however the reason of reasons, and that was the growing belief that the next Congress which will be overwhelmingly Republicans will proceed to enforce the provision of the XIV Amendment for the reduction of representation in those states only which have forfeited the right by the wholesale constitutional disfranchisement of the Negroes within their borders. It is indeed a deplorable state of affairs that thirty years after the war the Negro-haters should be in the saddle stirring up race-prejudice, injuring business interests and retarding the financial growth of one of the most prominent sections upon the face of the globe. O, the pity of it!

“Not To Disfranchise Us,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed January 24, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/245.