People For the American Way

People For Members Join Day of Action to Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act

People For Staff | May 17, 2021
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People For Members Join Day of Action to Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act

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As State Legislators Push Voter Suppression, Advocates Urge Federal Action

On May 8, more than ten thousand activists in more than 150 cities took to the streets for a nationwide day of action honoring the late John Lewis and his lifelong fight to defend voting rights.

People For members, coalition partners, and progressive activists met up for rallies and motorcades to raise awareness about the four concrete things we need to combat the current scourge of voter suppression bills being passed through state legislatures: eliminate the Jim Crow filibuster, followed by passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the For the People Act, and the D.C. statehood bill.

On Bloody Sunday in 1965, then-25-year-old John Lewis was beaten nearly to death during a march for voting rights. He was willing to put his life on the line to uphold the right to vote, and he spent his congressional career fighting to protect and expand these rights. With more than 360 voter suppression bills introduced in 47 states this year, voting rights are suffering their greatest attacks since the 1960s.

If passed, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the For the People Act, and the D.C. statehood bill will help prevent state legislators’ voter suppression tactics, aimed squarely at communities of color, from taking effect and provide full citizenship to the 700,000 residence of the District of Columbia, 40 percent of whom are Black. But we need these measures to pass quickly to have an impact in halting the voter suppression and granting full voting rights to the residents of D.C. That’s why activists across the country met up to take part in the John Lewis Voting Rights Day of Action.

This nationwide series of in-state events included high-profile guests and civil rights leaders, such as People For Board member Dolores Huerta, as well as more than twenty elected leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and former People For Senior Fellow Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-8).

Check out some of the events below, and keep an eye on People For’s channels – especially on Mobilize – for more ways you can take action to defend our freedom to vote!

Tags:

Chuck Schumer, Day of Action, DC Statehood, Dolores Huerta, For the People Act, H.R. 1, H.R. 51, Jamie Raskin, John Lewis, John Lewis Voting Rights Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, S. 1, voting rights