This Summer, A Moral Crusade For Voting Rights And To Save American Democracy

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Above: (Getty image) President Lyndon Baines Johnson discusses the Voting Rights Act with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the White House in 1965.

LBJ told Dr. King that he understands Dr. King’s concerns, but he has more important projects. Dr. King then launched “Plan B,” the Selma to Montgomery March to draw public attention to voting rights in the South (brilliantly portrayed in the 2014 film Selma). After “Bloody Sunday” on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the nation’s attention was transfixed. After further violence in Alabama, President Johnson addressed a Joint Session of Congress on March 15 to ask for quick passage of the Voting Rights Act bill to eliminate restrictions on voting, and praising the courage of the activists.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was introduced in Congress two days later. Southern segregationist Dixiecrat Senators unsuccessfully tried to filibuster the bill. On May 25, the Senate voted for cloture by a 70-30 vote, overcoming the filibuster and limiting further debate on the bill. On May 26, the Senate passed the bill by a 77-19 vote (Democrats 47-16, Republicans 30-2); only senators representing Southern states voted against it.

I can’t believe that 56 years later we are now back to the same place. The “Jim Crow 2.0 Justices” of The Supreme Court Have Abandoned Voting Rights, and the progeny of those Southern Dixiecrats, who all became Republicans since the Reagan years, are now filibustering critical voting rights legislation to restore the vitality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The work of my lifetime, civil rights and voting rights, must begin again. I’m just getting too old for this shit. Younger generations must take up this cause and continue the good fight to bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice.

On Thursday, Civil rights leaders dialed up pressure on White House to protect voting rights:

Several top civil rights leaders, in what was described as a “a very candid, no-holds-barred meeting” that stretched nearly two hours, urged President Biden on Thursday to take more assertive action to combat Republican efforts to change voting laws around the country.

While several of the civil rights leaders described Biden as one of their allies, they also pressed him to do more, speak louder and make voting rights a central priority. Their exasperation with waiting on Washington to act was evident as they also pledged to embark on “a summer of activism, a summer of getting back in the streets,” evoking the 1960s movement that helped lead to the Voting Rights Act.

“If we don’t put the street heat on, it will not happen,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network.

Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, said that nearly every lever of government is being used to target the right to vote.

“When we look at what is happening in this nation,” he said, “we see an effort to impose a system of American apartheid.”

The renewed efforts come as Democratic voting legislation has stalled in Congress, as courts have ruled against their efforts, and as the party heads into the 2022 midterm elections facing historical trends that put their tenuous House and Senate majorities at risk.

The meeting at the White House, which came at Biden’s request, took place several hours after Vice President Harris announced that the Democratic National Committee was making a $25 million infusion into efforts to expand voting.

“This is the fight of our nation’s lifetime,” Harris said during remarks on voting rights, referring to new state laws and attempts to pass two bills in Congress.

“I want to make clear that this is about all voters . . . this is not about Democrats or Republicans; this is about Americans,” Harris said. “We want to help you vote, and we want to help make sure your vote is counted. And that is because our democracy is strongest when everyone participates, and it is weaker . . . when people are left out.”

Civil rights leaders are largely in agreement with the Biden administration about what changes need to occur, and have been aligned on pushing pieces of legislation that would expand voting rights. But during a meeting that stretched nearly twice as long as expected, they pressed Biden and Harris to take on more forceful tactics — and pledged to do the same themselves.

“We must have the president use his voice, use his influence, use his power — and use what he clearly understands about this moment,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “The president understands us to be in a moment of peril in terms of our democracy. And that means that we have to put all the options on the table, figure out what can work, keep talking, keep pressing and move forward.”

Biden several times in recent weeks has spoken about making voting rights a more prominent issue, saying that he would travel the country to make the case for sweeping new changes and combating new GOP-led laws.

The hour is late. Time is of the essence. This has to happen NOW.

“I think that it is critical that we make a distinction between voter suppression and suspension,” he said last week, referring to laws that could not only make voting harder but could also empower elected officials to change election outcomes.

“The ability of a state legislative body to come along and vote — their legislature — vote to change who is declared the winner, I find to be somewhat astounding,” Biden added. “I’ll have much more to say about that because I plan on speaking extensively on voting rights and — as well as going on the road on this issue.”

NOW, Mr. President! Call a joint session of Congress like LBJ for dramatic effect and a callback to history.

There have also been growing calls for changing the filibuster rules, which would allow Democrats to use their narrow majority to pass voting reform legislation, among other agenda items, on a party-line vote. To do so, they would need to convince moderates prima donna divas such as Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) who oppose changing the filibuster rules.

Sharpton said before the meeting that one of his concerns is that Biden isn’t using the full powers of the presidency, and that he needs to explore a “workaround in terms of the filibuster.”

“I do not think this president wants history to say that in his presidency, there was the continued weakening of voting rights for people that put him and Vice President Harris in office,” he said on MSNBC. “He can effectively try to use his power as the chief executive of this country — one with the bully pulpit, two with dealing with Democrats and trying to talk about whether they should go around that 60-vote necessity to really dealing with voting rights.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier Thursday that Biden still had confidence that some legislative solution could be found, even though Republicans have opposed his party’s plans and stopped it last month in the Senate.

“He’s an optimist by nature; otherwise, he wouldn’t be president of the United States,” she said. “So he continues to believe that there should be a pathway forward for federal legislation.”

Cockeyed optimism is unwarranted, Mr. President. Republicans are committed to destroying your presidency, and American democracy. You need steely-eyed realism and resolve right now.

The $25 million initiative that Harris announced earlier in the day will go toward the DNC’s “I Will Vote” campaign to enhance voter education, expand voter registration and attempt to make voting more accessible. The spending is in addition to $20 million that had previously been announced by the DNC.

It follows one of the most contested elections in American history, with former president Donald Trump and his allies continuing to falsely claim that he won the presidency.

“In 2020, more Americans turned out to vote than ever before in the middle of a pandemic,” Harris said. “America, you masked up. You mailed in your ballots. You did not let anything stop you from making your voice heard.”

Harris made the announcement during a speech at Howard University, her alma mater and a historically Black college. It was a backdrop meant to demonstrate the importance of Black voters in the Democratic coalition. Many of the new voting laws, Democrats say, are targeting Black voters and aiming to suppress turnout.

“The Republican Party has made unprecedented efforts to keep people from voting,” Jaime Harrison, chair of the DNC, said in a statement. “But throughout history and all across the country — from Democratic state legislators in Texas to the DNC’s case before the Supreme Court — Democrats have shown we are fighters and we will not give up our right to vote.”

Bishop William Barber II is launching National Moral Mondays on the Capitol Mall beginning on Monday. Press Release:

National Moral Mondays begin July 12 as Poor People’s Campaign opens ‘season of nonviolent direct action’ 

Bishop Barber joins news conference in DC that can be viewed here

CONTACT:
Martha Waggoner | mwaggoner@breachrepairers.org  | 919-295-0802
Jennifer Farmer | jenniferr@spotlightpr.org

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is opening a season of nonviolent direct action on July 12 with Moral Mondays backed by a fusion coalition of impacted people of all races, clergy and moral leaders and organizations determined to save democracy, including SEIU, MoveOn, the Sunrise Movement and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Bishop William J. Barber II, DMin, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and coalition members will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. ET Monday outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. They are demanding an end to the filibuster; full passage of all provisions of the For the People Act; expansion and protection of Voting Rights Act and a $15/hour minimum wage by Aug. 6, the 56th anniversary of the VRA.

“What is happening in the Senate is an attack not just on Black people, but on everyone, especially poor and low-wage people, and on democracy itself,” Bishop Barber said. “And so we ask the GOP and Sens. Manchin and Sinema: Which side are you on? Are you on the side of democracy and the U.S. Constitution? Or are you on the side of autocracy, dark money and the corporate elite?” 

The coalition supporting the period of moral witness is a growing list that includes: the PPC’s 42 state coordinating committees, SEIU, MoveOn, the Institute for Policy Studies, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Transformative Justice Network, Forward Justice, Indivisible, the Sunrise Movement, National Welfare Rights Union, Black Voters Matter, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Red Letter Christians and several religious denominations.

At the news conference, Bishop Barber, joined by coalition partners, will provide details on plans for the rallies and nonviolent moral direct action being held July 19, July 26 and Aug. 2 that will support the 140 million poor and low-income people in this country.

Bishop Barber previously said that women will lead the July 19th actions in DC; the July 26th actions will focus on senators’ offices in the states; and clergy and religion leaders will lead the Aug. 2nd actions, along with poor and low-wage workers.

The news conference will be followed by an online program that includes Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and poor and low-income people and workers. People will call every U.S. senator and the White House to demand that our allies stay strong while we challenge our adversaries.

The news conference and online program can be viewed here.

The call for a season of consistent protest and nonviolent direct action follows a wave of policies being passed in state legislatures across the country aimed at restricting access to the ballot. It also comes on the heels of Senate Republicans’ refusal to support or debate the For the People Act.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is also organizing a March on Washington on August 28, the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

This is a moral crusade to save American democracy from the fascist barbarians at the gate. We cannot afford to fail. We owe it the generations of Americans who have gone before us who sacrificed and many gave their life in defense of American democracy, and to secure the right to vote.

Contact your senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly daily to demand an end to the Senate filibuster for the fundamental right to vote, and to pass the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.




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