Selma: Honoring the courage of democracy heroes

Every March, we commemorate the heroic acts of small-town Alabama people who decided to put themselves at risk to hold America accountable to the promise of democracy. 866-OUR-VOTE For the Lawyers’ Committee, convener of the Election Protection Coalition, the nation’s largest nonpartisan voter assistance coalition that manages the Voter Assistance Hotline, this memorial holds a special place in our collective hearts. occupied. In his 1965 year, 95 years after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited voting discrimination on the basis of race, many states in the former Confederacy began to ban African Americans by denying them access to the ballot. , responded to the opening of democracy. Both legal and extra-legal means. For decades, these states have enacted laws that include literacy tests, poll taxes, character tests, grandfather clauses, racial gerrymandering, and harassment and violence. The lesson of Selma that we must heed today is that people do not have to depend on the political class for the courage to do the right thing. We can force governments to take the necessary steps.

The hundreds of people who gathered in front of Brown’s Chapel in Selma to pray before the march knew at the time the inherent dangers of seeking a voice in a democracy, but they still bravely showed up. They lined up behind John Lewis, 25, then president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and Hosea Williams, 39, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). , quietly approached 150 state troopers. They brutally attacked them with batons and tear gas.

After witnessing brutality against citizens gathered for the 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, which was broadcast nationally, President Lyndon B. Johnson adopted the language of the civil rights movement and addressed the nation. He gave a speech. This was no coincidence.President Johnson understood that the attack on marchers was an attack on American democracy. His speech began by saying “Tonight, I speak for human dignity and the fate of democracy. I urge every member of Congress of both parties, Americans of every faith and color, and people from every region of the country to stand up for this cause. I urge you to join me.” He couldn’t help but link the need for political action with the demands of the movement, referring to the phrase “we will overcome” that is constantly repeated in his speeches. He acknowledged that this was thanks to the efforts of the civil rights movement. Six months later, Congress passed and President Johnson signed the groundbreaking Voting Rights Act. This law finally made the words of the 15th Amendment a reality and America became a true democracy. Among its provisions, the law prohibits discrimination in voting nationwide (Section 2) and requires jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting to submit voting changes for federal review before the changes are implemented. (Article 5).

However, in 2013,Shelby County vs. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court began weakening these important protections of the Voting Rights Act. Importantly, the formula for determining which states are subject to federal review was found to be unconstitutional. This is exactly the formula that Congress established in 2006. As a result of the review, it was overwhelmingly determined that this is still necessary. To protect voters from discrimination. On the day this decision was made, Texas, one of the states subject to Section 5 of the Act, announced that its voting laws, previously found to be discriminatory, had been reviewed by the Justice Department and federal courts. announced that it would begin enforcement. Other states followed suit and passed omnibus voting suppression laws. The Fourth Circuit found North Carolina’s oppressive conduct. Voting laws were enacted with ‘surgical precision’ Targeting African American voters became a trend for these laws. Not surprisingly, these repressive laws resulted in increased racial disparities in access to the ballot.There is a difference in participation rates between black and white voters. Increase in GeorgiaLouisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas were previously covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

This trend of states continuing to pass oppressive laws that address the very tools voters used to overcome the barriers enacted in the last election must stop. As in 1965, we need Congressional action. The lesson from Selma is that Congress will act when faced with the dismembered bodies of peaceful protesters and is embarrassed. That shouldn’t happen. But everyone in this country who cares about the future of our democracy needs to continue to insist that Congress do its job to ensure that every vote is free from discrimination and harassment. The late John Lewis, who had his skull fractured by a state trooper on his first attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery, urges us: Our fight is not about judicial appointments or presidential terms. Our struggle is a lifelong, or perhaps lifelong, struggle, and each of us in every generation must play our part. ” In honor of his sacrifice and that of the countless foot soldiers of the civil rights movement, so many brave men and women who risked their lives to fight, I would like to remind all Americans that all elected officials We urge you to always and consistently insist on doing your part to protect our principles. To ensure that the right to vote is protected. After all, democracy will only survive if the public remains engaged and holds both leaders and institutions accountable. Ensure that this country is a vibrant democracy and that elected officials are not emboldened to erect barriers that silence the voices of their constituents, especially those of historically disenfranchised people. Each of us needs to ask ourselves what role we play in achieving this goal.

Marcia Johnson is co-director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.