Darrio Melton: DMV closings put working families between a rock and a hard place

  When you open the pages of a national newspaper or turn to a major news network and see "Alabama," you can pretty much bet something has gone terribly wrong, and we are, once again, the butt of jokes nationwide. Over the past weeks, Alabama has made headlines from the New York Times to The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore for Governor Bentley's decision to close DMV offices across the state and the impact it will have on voting in upcoming elections.

  Since Alabama now requires a photo ID to vote, closing the DMV offices will certainly have an adverse affect on voter turnout, particularly among low-income, rural voters.

Darrio Melton: You can’t run the state like a business

  Fifty years ago, American democracy fundamentally shifted in Selma, Alabama. As men and women from all walks of life joined together to march in solidarity for the precious principle of "one man, one vote," the nation watched and took note. What happened in Selma 50 years ago changed this nation, and what's happening in Alabama is rolling the clock back.

  The Selma to Montgomery march brought us the Voting Rights Act, which banned discriminatory voting practices and resulted in mass enfranchisement of minorities across the nation and especially across the South.