Protecting The Power of the Vote
When the late
Congressman John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a crowd of voting
rights activists on March 7, 1965, he was met by Alabama state troopers who brutally
beat him, leaving him with a fractured skull. Yesterday he crossed the
bridge for the last time, his flag-covered coffin on a horse drawn caisson. And
while the bridge still bears the name of a man who was a Confederate Army officer
and a grand dragon in the Ku Klux Klan, this time, uniformed
state officers saluted as John Lewis passed them.
Yes, our country has made some racial progress in the last 50 years, and for that we can be grateful. But we have also lost ground, and it's up to us to reverse that. Congressman Lewis and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi are among the Black leaders who have told us what we need to do.
Two months after the courageous John Lewis led the march on Bloody Sunday, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That act was supposed to ensure that no state or local government passed a law or policy denying any citizen the right to vote because of race. But in 2013 the Supreme Court swept aside a key provision of the law, one that authorized federal oversight of certain jurisdictions with a history of discrimination. Summary, Shelby County v. Holder.
The impact was immediate. Soon after the Shelby County decision came down, sixteen states enacted a variety of voter suppression laws. Today, 36 states have enacted voter ID laws. Meanwhile, the Court has continued to retreat from its role as the institutional check on White supremacy. In subsequent decisions, it has upheld voter roll purges and rejected a lower court's finding of race-based gerrymandering. How Shelby County v. Holder Broke America. The country has now moved from federal oversight in protection of voting rights to a presumption that states act in good faith when they redraw voting maps, even with a finding of past discrimination. Abbott v. Perez.
But Shelby County is not absolute. Although it held that the provision in question was unconstitutional because it was renewed in 2006 based upon the 1965 coverage formula, the Supreme Court invited Congress to update the law by adopting a new coverage formula. Shelby County v. Holder.
John Lewis was still working on that effort when he died. He was one of the original co-sponsors of H.R. 4, Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019, which was passed by the House last December. That bill, which would have restored the Voting Rights Act by reinstating the preclearance requirement struck down in Shelby County, has since languished in the Senate. Since his death, 48 senators have now joined together to introduce the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and have urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a hearing on the bill. The House has also agreed to rename its original bill for John Lewis.
To John Lewis, the right to vote was "precious and almost sacred, and one of the most important blessings of our democracy. Today," he said, "we must be vigilant in protecting that blessing." He continued,
The history of the right to vote in America is a history of conflict, of struggling for the right to vote. Many people died trying to protect that right. I was beaten, and jailed because I stood up for it. For millions like me, the struggle for the right to vote is not mere history; it is experience. We should not take a step backward with new poll taxes and voter ID laws and barriers to voting. We must ensure every vote and every voter counts.
The vote is the most powerful, non-violent tool we have in a democratic society. We must not allow the power of the vote to be neutralized. We must never go back.
As Congressman Lewis knew too well, we are at great risk of seeing the power of the vote neutralized. Now it's up to us to pick up the burden that he had to lay down. It's on us to call and write our senators, to press Mitch McConnell, and to do all within our power to see that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is brought to the Senate floor and is passed. Find out how to contact your Senators here.
We must also help to make sure that those who have been harmed by voter suppression efforts know their rights and have access to the ballot. Since late 2017, the nonpartisan Reclaim Our Vote campaign has been reaching out to empower voters of color in states most affected by voter suppression. It's easy to sign on with ROV to take direct action to help save our democracy through making phone calls or writing postcards. I signed up and got trained in less than 30 minutes.
Last Monday I saw Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's live-streaming conversation on "How to Be an Antiracist." The archival video of his interview by Dr. Charlene M. Dukes is available for on demand viewing until August 20, courtesy of the Price Georges County Memorial Library System and partners throughout the state of Maryland. In that conversation, Dr. Kendi was asked how those who want to work at being antiracist can make a difference. Donate time and money to organizations that are already doing the work was his reply.
What are we waiting for? Is today the day that you step up? If you need more information about protecting our elections and helping to get out the vote, the American Bar Association has compiled a list of nonpartisan organizations that support these goals. And if you'd like to give to Reclaim Our Vote, you can donate here.
Losing John Lewis has been a blow, but he knew that the goal of true civil rights is bigger than any one person. It is long past time to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge in his honor, as many now urge. But a real tribute would be to make sure that the Voting Rights Act is restored and that all citizens have full, free, and fair access to the ballot. We can do this.
Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma
Yes, our country has made some racial progress in the last 50 years, and for that we can be grateful. But we have also lost ground, and it's up to us to reverse that. Congressman Lewis and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi are among the Black leaders who have told us what we need to do.
Two months after the courageous John Lewis led the march on Bloody Sunday, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That act was supposed to ensure that no state or local government passed a law or policy denying any citizen the right to vote because of race. But in 2013 the Supreme Court swept aside a key provision of the law, one that authorized federal oversight of certain jurisdictions with a history of discrimination. Summary, Shelby County v. Holder.
The impact was immediate. Soon after the Shelby County decision came down, sixteen states enacted a variety of voter suppression laws. Today, 36 states have enacted voter ID laws. Meanwhile, the Court has continued to retreat from its role as the institutional check on White supremacy. In subsequent decisions, it has upheld voter roll purges and rejected a lower court's finding of race-based gerrymandering. How Shelby County v. Holder Broke America. The country has now moved from federal oversight in protection of voting rights to a presumption that states act in good faith when they redraw voting maps, even with a finding of past discrimination. Abbott v. Perez.
But Shelby County is not absolute. Although it held that the provision in question was unconstitutional because it was renewed in 2006 based upon the 1965 coverage formula, the Supreme Court invited Congress to update the law by adopting a new coverage formula. Shelby County v. Holder.
John Lewis was still working on that effort when he died. He was one of the original co-sponsors of H.R. 4, Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019, which was passed by the House last December. That bill, which would have restored the Voting Rights Act by reinstating the preclearance requirement struck down in Shelby County, has since languished in the Senate. Since his death, 48 senators have now joined together to introduce the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and have urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a hearing on the bill. The House has also agreed to rename its original bill for John Lewis.
To John Lewis, the right to vote was "precious and almost sacred, and one of the most important blessings of our democracy. Today," he said, "we must be vigilant in protecting that blessing." He continued,
The history of the right to vote in America is a history of conflict, of struggling for the right to vote. Many people died trying to protect that right. I was beaten, and jailed because I stood up for it. For millions like me, the struggle for the right to vote is not mere history; it is experience. We should not take a step backward with new poll taxes and voter ID laws and barriers to voting. We must ensure every vote and every voter counts.
The vote is the most powerful, non-violent tool we have in a democratic society. We must not allow the power of the vote to be neutralized. We must never go back.
As Congressman Lewis knew too well, we are at great risk of seeing the power of the vote neutralized. Now it's up to us to pick up the burden that he had to lay down. It's on us to call and write our senators, to press Mitch McConnell, and to do all within our power to see that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is brought to the Senate floor and is passed. Find out how to contact your Senators here.
We must also help to make sure that those who have been harmed by voter suppression efforts know their rights and have access to the ballot. Since late 2017, the nonpartisan Reclaim Our Vote campaign has been reaching out to empower voters of color in states most affected by voter suppression. It's easy to sign on with ROV to take direct action to help save our democracy through making phone calls or writing postcards. I signed up and got trained in less than 30 minutes.
Last Monday I saw Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's live-streaming conversation on "How to Be an Antiracist." The archival video of his interview by Dr. Charlene M. Dukes is available for on demand viewing until August 20, courtesy of the Price Georges County Memorial Library System and partners throughout the state of Maryland. In that conversation, Dr. Kendi was asked how those who want to work at being antiracist can make a difference. Donate time and money to organizations that are already doing the work was his reply.
What are we waiting for? Is today the day that you step up? If you need more information about protecting our elections and helping to get out the vote, the American Bar Association has compiled a list of nonpartisan organizations that support these goals. And if you'd like to give to Reclaim Our Vote, you can donate here.
Losing John Lewis has been a blow, but he knew that the goal of true civil rights is bigger than any one person. It is long past time to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge in his honor, as many now urge. But a real tribute would be to make sure that the Voting Rights Act is restored and that all citizens have full, free, and fair access to the ballot. We can do this.
Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma
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