June has been a busy month for People For the American Way Foundation’s Young Elected Officials, who did everything from fight to defend voting rights to advocate for greater LGBTQ+ representation at all levels of government.
On June 9, D.C. Councilmember Robert C. White spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court to support passage of the For The People Act (S. 1).
When we turn people away from voting, we’re building a fence around access to our democracy. And the higher that fence is, the less we have a democracy, says @YEONetwork member @CMRobertWhiteDC.
To protect our democracy, we need to pass the #ForThePeopleAct. pic.twitter.com/n4XVPA0Kiv
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) June 9, 2021
Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones, of the 35th Senate District in Miami, Florida, spoke with People For in a wide-ranging interview where he reflected on how his background has influenced and improved his leadership, and about his experience as a young elected official who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. You can read and watch the full interview here >>
On June 22, Councilmember White was joined by fellow D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George at a rally in support of passing D.C. statehood now.
Three of our network’s members – Councilmember George, Arizona State Representative Athena Salman, and Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin – were featured in a series of videos advocating for the importance of the small donor provision of the For the People Act. Make sure to watch all three videos here! >>
Lastly, throughout the eight days and cities of Black Voters Matter’s Freedom Ride for Voting Rights 2021, Young Elected Officials joined rallies at each city. Check out our complete live coverage here! And don’t miss Tennessee State Representative London Lamar speaking at the Nashville event:
Thanks to @YEOnetwork member and Tennessee State @RepLamar for joining us. Thank you for your leadership and for working every day to #DefendTheBlackVote! #FreedomRide2021 pic.twitter.com/PhcMPmF31K
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) June 20, 2021
Make sure to keep an eye on our channels for more ways that our Young Elected Officials plug into our work!