Americans across the Country Call on Congress to Restore the VRA in 50th Anniversary Month
WASHINGTON – On the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, concerned citizens all over the country are calling on Congress to restore the crucial protections of the VRA that were lost in the Supreme Court’s destructive Shelby County v. Holder decision to gut the landmark civil rights law. Advocates are participating in voting rights events in every region of the U.S.
In the two years since the Shelby decision, nearly half of the 50 states have enacted policies that make it harder to vote. A surge of discriminatory voter ID requirements and laws eliminating early voting opportunities have deprived Americans of their fundamental right, and have had an especially harmful effect on people of color, low-income communities, people with disabilities, and students.
Despite public outcry and widespread evidence of voter discrimination, Congress has shirked from its constitutional obligation to protect the right to vote. Unless Congress acts, voters in 2016 will face the first presidential election in half a century where they lack crucial protections in federal law to combat racial discrimination in voting. Congress now has two bills—the Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Voting Rights Amendment Act—to use as vehicles to restore the VRA. Congress has no excuses for failing to act.
Quote from Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:
“Fifty years ago, Congress made history and came together across party lines to enact our nation’s most effective civil rights law. From California to Georgia, Alabama to New York, Americans are demanding that Congress protect their right to vote. As we commemorate the VRA and honor those who fought so hard for it, we also lament that Americans have the weakest voting protections than at any time in the last 50 years. When Congress returns to Washington this fall, its first order of business must be to restore the VRA.”
· Click here for a list of events happening across the country.
WORKING LIST OF EVENTS & INFORMATION:
Alabama
- August 1, Selma: NAACP America’s Journey for Justice Kick Off Event
- August 3, Montgomery: America’s Journey for Justice Rally
- August 6, Selma: Film Screen: “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot”
- August 6, Birmingham: Shelby v. Holder: Challenges to Voting Rights Today
California
- August 3, Los Angeles: Reimagining Voting Rights in a New Era of Racial Justice and Immigrant Rights
- August 4, Los Angeles: The American Labor Movement’s 50-Year VRA Fight for Citizenship and Our Right to Vote
- August 6, Los Angeles: The 1965 Voting Rights Act 50th Anniversary Tribute and Call to Action Mass Meeting
- August 6, Sacramento: Commemoration, “Candlelight” Vigil, and Voter Registration Event
Florida
- August 8, Miami: Film Screening: “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot”
Georgia
- August 4, Atlanta: 50th Observance of the Struggle for the 1965 Voting Rights Act at Wheat Street Baptist Church
- August 6, Atlanta: Film Screening: “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot
Hawaii
- August 6, Honolulu: Your Vote Matters Rally
Louisiana
- August 6, New Orleans: Film Screening: “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot”
- August 26, New Orleans: Louisiana NAACP State Conference Event
- August 27-29, New Orleans: Katrina 10 & the Southern Movement Assembly
Maryland
- August 6, Baltimore: Rally to Unlock the Vote in Maryland
Minnesota
- August 5-9, Minneapolis: National Association of Black Journalists Convention
- August 6, Minneapolis: Stay Restless: A Community Gathering on the Voting Rights Act 50 Years Later
New York
- August 6, New York City: Voting Rights Act 50th Anniversary Day of Action in Foley Square
- August 6, Chestnut Ridge: Retreat for Student Voting Leaders on 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
North Carolina
- August 10-11, Charlotte: Young People for Voting Rights Summit
- August 28, Charlotte: America’s Journey for Justice
Ohio
- August 8, Ohio to Covington, KY: “Bridges to Cross: Building Bridges” – March across the Roebling Suspension Bridge
Pennsylvania
- August 6, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh (concurrently): Civil Rights and Election Reform Groups Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act and call for A New Era for Pennsylvania Voting Rights
Rhode Island
- August 12, Providence: The Voting Rights Act at 50: The Promise and the Struggle
Tennessee
- August 6, Knoxville: “Let Us March on Ballot Boxes” with Keynote Speaker Joanne Bland
Texas
- August 6, Dallas: Progressive Black Baptist Convention Event
- August 6, Houston: Voting Rights Press Conference and Re-Enactment with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Virginia
- August 6, Newport News: 50th Anniversary Commemorative Event at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center
- August 6, Lynchburg: Voting Rights Act 50th Anniversary Commemoration