Anyone who thinks the civil rights movement ended in
1968 and is simply a part of history hasn't been paying attention. That
movement continues and is being carried forward by a broad inter-racial, multi-ethnic,
multi-issue coalition based in North Carolina, led by the North Carolina NAACP, headed by the
Rev. Dr. William Barber, that has spread to other states like
Georgia,
Alabama, and
Truthful Tuesdays in South Carolina.
I'm talking about the NAACP's Moral Mondays Forward Together movement.
Fundamental to that movement is the fight for voting rights.
On Feb 8, 2014, over 80,000 people marched with Moral Mondays in Raleigh, North Carolina. Once now again, Moral Mondays is calling for a massive protest, on July 13 in Winston-Salem, proclaiming "North Carolina is our Selma."
Follow me below the fold for the details and how you can participate.
Bloody Sunday took place in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. We have just witnessed a bloody white terror massacre in South Carolina, along with the racist terror that continues to be perpetrated against communities of color across the U.S.
We have a responsibility today to join the struggle against systemic racism, oppression and exploitation. Fundamental to that struggle is the battle to protect the ballot.
The North Carolina NAACP has stated:
We call on justice-loving people from across the country and the world to join us in Winston-Salem on July 13 to defend our voting rights. This case is important not just for North Carolina but for all 50 states. *Press conference starts at 8 a.m. in front of the U.S. District Court. See flyer for details.
You can
download the flyer here.
Voter suppression is a key Republican tool in states across the U.S., and the U.S. Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act, which is why Congressman John Lewis and other Democrats are calling for passage of a bill to restore it.
In 2013, North Carolina passed one of the worst pieces of voter suppression legislation in the nation.
As Brennan Center for Justice explains:
In July 2013, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a sweeping omnibus elections bill — which passed the legislature along party lines and without the vote of a single African-American legislator — into law. The bill, known as HB 589, created strict photo identification requirements, shortened the early voting period by a week, eliminated same-day voter registration, and eliminated pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds, among other restrictive changes...
The Department of Justice, the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, and various affected other groups and individuals promptly sued the state, alleging that the law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because it places a disproportionate burden on African-American voters when compared to white voters in the state. Some parties also argue that the law violates Constitution by placing an undue burden on the right to vote, as well as various other constitutional claims.
Here are more key points regarding the lawsuit,
NC NAACP v McCrory:
- This case argues that H.B. 589 discriminates against African American and Latino voters in North Carolina, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act – which prohibits policies that result in the “denial or abridgement” of voting on the basis of race. The suit also alleges that the law violates the right to vote under the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
- The case challenges the following provisions of H.B. 589: the elimination of same-day voter registration, the prohibition of counting out-of-precinct ballots, the shortening of the early voting period by a week, the implementation of a strict photo ID requirement, the elimination of a successful pre-registration program for 16- and 17-year-olds, and the expansion of the ability for poll observers to challenge voters.
- The North Carolina General Assembly knew that this law would discriminate against African-American voters but passed it anyway. Lawmakers were presented with significant evidence that the measure would make it harder for African-American voters to participate in the electoral process.
- Voters of color are more likely to use early voting and same-day registration because, after centuries of racial discrimination in North Carolina, they continue to lag behind Whites in income, education, access to transportation and residential stability.
- Over several election cycles, voters of color have come to rely on these voting practices. The measures eliminated by H.B. 589 were enacted to make voting easier for voters of color and worked to great success. Turnout among North Carolina’s Black voters skyrocketed from 41.9 percent in 2000 to 68.5 percent in 2012. In 2012, 70 percent of African Americans who voted used early voting.
- African Americans comprise 22 percent of North Carolina voters but made up 41 percent of voters who used same-day registration, and cast out-of-precinct ballots at twice the rate of White voters. Repealing these practices, which voters of color have relied on, imposes substantial burdens.
- 318,000 registered North Carolina voters – disproportionately African Americans and Latinos – do not have a DMV-issued driver’s license or state ID card, the most common forms of photo ID that would be required under the law.
- Section 2 prohibits practices that result in African Americans and Latinos having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to vote. Poll taxes and literacy tests, for example, are illegal under Section 2 because they make it disproportionately harder for voters of color to participate – not because these practices make it impossible to vote. North Carolina’s law is in clear violation of Section 2’s prohibition on practices that deny or abridge the right to vote.
You do not have to live in North Carolina to support the movement and get involved. You can follow
Moral Mondays on Twitter. You can watch
livestreams of Moral Monday events. You can
become a member of the NAACP—and yes, NAACP members are of all ethnic backgrounds.
Most important is for all of us to spread the word.
I'm always stunned when I talk to people who identify as liberal and/or progressive, and who don't know anything about Moral Mondays—who have never heard of the Rev. Barber. I realize that we cannot count on mainstream media to get the word out, so we are going to have to count on you to help us move forward together.
We cannot continue to allow right-wing racists to turn the clock back.