Politics

Alabama Votes To Cut Racist Phrases From State Constitution

(Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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A majority of Alabama voters approved an amendment Tuesday that will cut racist language from the state’s 119-year-old constitution.

“This is a great day in the state of Alabama, where we show the rest of the country that we’re not the Alabama of 1901, that we are a more inclusive Alabama that’s documents reflect who we are today,” the amendment’s sponsor, Democratic State Rep. Merika Coleman, said Tuesday night, according to WBRC.

Written in 1901, the constitution still includes language requiring black and white children to attend separate schools. There are also sections on poll taxes, a ban on interracial marriage and the right for only men to vote, according to CNN. (RELATED: Republicans Take Back Alabama Senate Seat, Tommy Tuberville Defeats Doug Jones)

“Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race,” Section 256 of the constitution still reads.

Amendment 4, which would remove the language, was supported by nearly 67 percent of voters.

The proposal has appeared twice before in the past two decades but didn’t pass, according to Fox News. The state legislature will meet for a constitutional convention in 2022 to revise the documents, and then voters will again need to approve the new constitution, per CNN.