Shirley Pratt Miles, the Region III director for the NAACP, knows what time it is. "In this great country, our freedom is still under fire, " Miles emphasized to the approximately 150 people at the NAACP-Madison Branch's Freedom Fund Banquet October 6 at the  Madison Marriott Hotel.  "Not only is the fire from abroad, but it is also here in America by those who hate us and have hatred in their hearts against us. Right here in this country, there are many whose hearts are full of hatred and bigotry. Our freedom is under fire by those in communities who have attempted to take our right to vote away by designing laws to make it difficult, if not impossible, to even register to vote. They know a vote less people is a hopeless people. But I stopped by here tonight to say we are neither vote less nor hopeless. I cannot believe that people can actually sit at home on Election Day. It's mind boggling to me."
      In her remarks, Miles urged the audience to not take the November 7 election lightly, just because it isn't a presidential election.  "We're electing Senators and members of the House as well as governors and local officials," Miles observed.  "And I know here in Wisconsin, you'll be electing or reelecting a governor. We are still a non-partisan organization so we cannot endorse any candidate or political party. But I can urge you to educate yourselves, your family,  and your friends to make an intelligent decision on November 7. We have no permanent friends or permanent enemies, but we do have permanent causes. So don't be fooled by the campaign literature you receive or the ads you see on television. We need to know who the candidates are and if they  really have our best interests at heart."
      The right to vote and the elimination of barriers to voting has been a long-standing mission of the NAACP. While many people invent reasons why they should stay home from the polls on election day, Miles ardently told the audience 10 reasons why it was essential that they exercise the right to vote.  "First is when you go out and vote, you speak your mind," Miles emphasized.  "Your vote is your voice. Second, it makes others listen. When you  vote your voice, it acts as a loud speaker and it is impossible to ignore you. Third, you vote for our children. Our babies are too young to vote,  but they are depending on us to do it for them. Fourth, it is for your community. It's no coincidence that some neighborhoods receive things that other neighborhoods go lacking for."
       "Fifth, is to vote  for yourself,"  Miles continued.  "Sometimes, we need to do some things for ourselves. No one can do this for you. If you want to win in the game of democracy, you have to play in the game. Sixth, is to honor our      history. For as long as we have been in this country, we have had to fight  for our right to vote. Our ancestors fought and many of them died for the right to vote. And, believe it or not, not much has changed. There are still those who would prefer that we did not exercise that right. And the other reasons you need to get out and vote are to control our future, to stop something such as the anti-affirmative action initiative in Michigan, to start something, and, most importantly, to win. In many elections, the race is won by only a few votes. It's very possible that you can make that difference."
      Miles concluded her remarks by emphasizing to the crowd that this vote, this fight, is not only about them.  "We fight  not only for ourselves, but also for our children and the generations to come," Miles said.  "We fight because someone told me once that  the battle is not yours. It is the Lord's. We fight because He did not bring us this far to leave us. We fight because we know that in the  end, we shall be victorious." After the banquet, The Capital City      Hues sat down with Miles to get her thoughts on one Wisconsin ballot initiative and on recently passed federal detainee legislation. On November 7, Wisconsin voters will be voting on a death penalty advisory referendum.      More than likely, the results of the referendum will be used during next  year's legislative session to pass legislation to institute the death penalty here in Wisconsin. In 2000, the African American prison admissions rate was 35.3 times that for Euro-Americans. In Milwaukee County, the  African American prison admissions rate was 8.2 times the rate for Euro-Americans. These numbers may indicate the impact the death penalty could have on African Americans in Wisconsin.
      The NAACP is opposed to the death penalty.  "We know that first of all, the death penalty is not given out fairly," Miles said.  "There are far too many African  Americans on death row in relationship to what our population is. That is  the first part of the whole scenario. The second part of the scenario is  the fact that the death penalty as we know it now has lead to too many people on death row that actually aren' t guilty. Our opinion is that  we aren't buying into this new fangled advisory law. We can't  afford to buy into it because African Americans are given death penalties far more than others. It just isn't fair or equitable. We can't  buy into that."
      On October 17, President  George Bush signed the Terror Detainee Bill into law. The ACLU said this about the bill.  "The president can now  --  with the approval of  Congress -- indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence,  authorize trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony  literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for      habeas petitions."
      The right of due process has always been at the forefront of the NAACP's fight for civil rights. While it recognizes the need for tighter security in light of 9/11, the NAACP is also weary of this bill that takes away fundamental civil rights.  "We've all been watching the recent federal legislation," Miles said.  "You are violating people's rights when you do that. If you hold people without charging them,  it's ridiculous. We understand the day and time that we live in. And  we know we need to be more careful obviously than we have been in the past.  But you can't just throw away all of the laws that we have had and decide to proceed the way they want to do it. We aren't in favor of that at all either."
      Today, indeed, there is a need for the NAACP more than  ever.
NAACP-Madison Branch Freedom Fund Banquet
Reasons to vote!
by Jonathan Gramling
(L-R) NAACP-Madison Branch President Linda Hoskins, Shirley Pratt-Miles, Director of NAACP Midwest Region III Office, and MMSD Board President  Johnny Winston.