Cynthia Young, associate professor of African American Studies and English, recently shared her expertise in the Yahoo News article “Critics say Mastriano’s pledge to make Pennsylvania citizens reregister to vote is aimed squarely at Black Americans“.

Professor Young told Yahoo, “There is much to say about the Republican nominee, most especially that he is a Christian Nationalist, the current term for white supremacist. His stated desire to have voters re-register is a dog whistle designed to reinforce the racist belief that Black and other BIPOC voters are not, in fact, fully enfranchised citizens guaranteed the same rights as white voters. The irony, however, is that were his scheme to be implemented many white, rural voters would be excluded from the voter rolls. …Rights won in one moment can be lost in another. Without constant vigilance and organized struggle against such racism, Black people can easily lose what we have fought and died to secure. Mastriano and his ilk count on us being exhausted (we are) and unaware (we are not) and just as with reproductive rights we have to say loudly and clearly that their will be no return to a fantastical vision of a white nation that exploits Black labor and intellect without granting us our Constitutionally guaranteed rights.”