Remember to vote today. Voting is a vital part of being a citizen. Be the change you want to see in the world.
A few weeks ago, the League of Women Voters “joined fellow civil rights groups and activists from across the country in gathering at the Lincoln Memorial for the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1963 March on Washington.“
As the League explained on their website, “The anniversary, which took place just months after the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, brought thousands to the nation’s capital, many of whom retraced the steps of the 1963 march while carrying signs denouncing the widespread attacks on voting rights sweeping the country: ‘The new Jim Crow must go!’ and ’50 years later still fighting to vote!'”
As Martin Luther King famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”And the various speakers at the event “called for called for the urgent need to continue Martin Luther King’s fight for equality and stop the onslaught of attacks on voting rights.”
“From the words of Lynda Johnson Robb, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, to former President Bill Clinton, the crowd was reminded of the blood, sweat and tears that went into the civil rights movement.”
Here’s a rundown on some of the many calls to protect voting rights from speakers throughout the week of activities honoring this historic event.
- “Almost 50 years ago, I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Alabama, for the right to vote. I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us. … You must get out there and push and pull and make America what America should be for all of us. We must say to the Congress, ‘Fix the Voting Rights Act!” – Rep. John Lewis
- “I believe we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to the new I.D. requirements to exclude certain voters, especially African Americans…[and] how Dr. King would have reacted to the Supreme Court striking down a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act just recently passed overwhelmingly by Congress. …There’s a tremendous agenda ahead of us, and I’m thankful to Martin Luther King Jr. that his dream is still alive.” – President Jimmy Carter
- “This morning, we affirm that this struggle must, and will, go on in the cause of our nation’s quest for justice – until every eligible American has the chance to exercise his or her right to vote, unencumbered by discriminatory or unneeded procedures, rules, or practices.” – Attorney General Eric Holder
- “We cannot be discouraged by a Supreme Court decision that said we don’t need this critical provision of the Voting Rights Act. A great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon.” – President Bill Clinton
- “There are no white sheets, but there are judges in black robes in the U.S. Supreme Court who struck down Section IV of the Voting Rights Act, opening the floodgates in many states to pass more voter I.D. laws to block people of color and young people from voting…” – Melanie Campbell, President, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Featured Image: VOTE, by Theresa Thompson for http://www.dronethusiast.com, November 03, 2008, pursuant Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).
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