Alabama is planning to remove racist language from its 1901 constitution that still states schools should be segregated by race and people are to pay poll taxes to vote. According to AP News, the Committee on the Recompilation of the Constitution approved a plan Wednesday to remove the racist language.  

Democratic representative, chair of the committee and sponsor of the legislation, Merika Coleman, wants to right some of the wrongs  

“The moving racist language portion, I think is a great first step in righting some of the wrongs of the past of the state of Alabama,” Coleman said. “We know the spirit in which the document was written, and it was written specifically to disenfranchise, not only Black Alabamians, but also poor Alabamians.” 

In 1954, the Supreme Court decided that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional, which resulted in Alabama’s decision to present Constitutional Amendment 111 that allowed parents to choose for students to “attend schools provided for their own race.”  

If lawmakers consider the committee’s proposal in the 2022 legislative session, it would be presented before voters in November of next year. Coleman is confident in the proposal receiving approval; however, she doesn’t want the approval being connected to the current national issue with critical race theory.