The Fight to Vote: Battling Disenfranchisement in New York
The Downings also supported New York City's Black suffrage movement. Their fight for voting rights reveals how white supremacy used laws to maintain power—and how Black activists resisted. Before 1821, free Black men in New York had equal voting rights. Then white supremacists organized to change the rules. They raised residency and property ownership requirements for Black voters—requirements that didn't exist for white residents. Under the new laws, white men could vote after one year of residency and $40 worth of real property. Black men faced a three-year residency requirement and had to own $250 in property and pay taxes. These discriminatory restrictions remained in place until 1870.This history echoes today. Voter ID laws, purges of voter rolls, reduced polling places in minority neighborhoods, and gerrymandering all serve to dilute the political power of communities of color. The methods change; the goal remains the same. The Downings fought back. They organized, petitioned, and demanded change. They understood that economic success meant little without political power. A wealthy Black businessman who couldn't vote remained vulnerable to laws passed without his consent. Their persistence paid off—eventually. Change took decades, but it came. That's another lesson: the fight for justice often outlasts individual lifetimes. You might not see victory, but your work makes victory possible.
