Take Action To Protect Our Voting Rights

Family,

Fifty-six years ago, Black Civil Rights organizers, activists, and allies collected on a long-awaited promise to participate in the democratic process of voting by organizing for and winning the passage of the Voting Rights Act—landmark legislation that made it illegal to discriminate against people trying to vote.

But today, some policymakers are still exhausting all of their resources to keep Black people from the ballot.

Then and now, Black organizers and activists fight voter suppression and intimidation by organizing locally, fighting for electoral justice, and building Black political power in ushering in a radical class of legislators.

The long fight for voting rights and to pass the Voting Rights Act was bloody. Klu Klux Klansmen and other white-supremacist terrorist organizations surveilled, threatened, harassed, and beat Black voters to impede democracy and maintain power.
1960s image of Black people marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama

In March 1965, 600 nonviolent civil-rights activists marched from Selma to Montgomery to demand that Black people have access to the ballot. The marchers were met with tear gas, billy clubs, and mounted troopers. This would become known as Bloody Sunday.

Black voters were intimidated at the polls and turned away for no reason. Then, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ushered in by the late Bob Moses, was created to outlaw these and other discriminatory practices, such as literacy tests, as a prerequisite for voting.

In 2021, 49 states have introduced hundreds of bills that will make it harder to vote; many of these bills have already been signed into law. We know that this is direct retaliation against the work of Black organizers during the 2020 elections. Trump tried to intimidate people and told supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully.” He tried to paint a picture of a stolen election, but ultimately, we prevailed.

Collectively, we voted out a racist president and demonstrated our power in state and local elections. Black LGBTQ elected officials grew at the fastest rate, with a 75 percent increase in representation. As M4BL’s Electoral Justice Project and our friends at New Georgia Project and Black Voters Matter keep fighting for voter protections, we can reflect today on how far we have come while looking ahead to a future in which legislation and legislators value Black lives. We know that once our most marginalized communities are taken care of, all communities will be better off.

To honor the legacy of the Voting Rights Act and fight voter suppression, dial 888-453-3211 and make these three demands:

• End the filibuster
• Pass the For the People Act
• Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which creates national standards that protect the freedom to vote and will restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act and ensure that everyone has the right to safely cast their vote and have their voices be heard.

We recognize that voting alone will not change the conditions plaguing Black communities, but we understand that with strategic political actions, we can make immediate interventions as we move toward ensuring that all Black people live full, safe, and healthy lives.

In Love and Power,

Movement for Black Lives

***

You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project

Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often

Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It

The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex

..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything