Hundreds Participate in Our Largest Voting Rights Action of 2021
On November 3 and 17, League members from across the country convened in Washington, D.C. to demand President Biden do all he can to support federal voting rights legislation.
The action on November 3 was led by youth activists and featured speeches from Martin Luther King III and his daughter Yolanda King. The action on November 17 was our largest in a series of five this fall.
In addition to capturing White House attention, these acts invigorated activists, leading to thousands of letters being sent to President Biden and Vice President Harris and hundreds of thousands of engagements over social media.
Racial Injustice Pervades Our Polls, Maps, and Courts
The fight for racial equity got off to a rocky start in November with the Senate’s failure to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would prevent racial discrimination at the polls. As LWVUS Board President Dr. Deborah Ann Turner stated, “By failing to even debate the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), senators are allowing unbridled attacks on our voting rights to continue.”
This failure hits particularly hard during the current redistricting period when racial gerrymanders threaten to unfairly dilute the power of Americans of color. In Texas, LWV of Texas joined partners in filing a federal lawsuit alleging that the recently drawn maps discriminate against Black, Latinx, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) residents. The complaint focuses on districts in many of Texas’ fastest-growing cities and suburban areas, where the political power of communities of color is being exploited to benefit areas with higher white populations.
Questions of racial justice were perhaps most visible in the courts this month as two major cases of racially motivated violence reached their verdicts. Devastatingly, Kyle Rittenhouse, was acquitted in the murder of two activists at a protest for Black rights. In contrast, Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan were found guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a local father who was jogging through the neighborhood.
Accountability for the murder of Mr. Arbery was a rare bright spot in a month whose events demonstrate how severely our country is failing Black and brown Americans. LWV remains committed to action and allyship as we strive to build an anti-racist nation.
Redistricting 101
As congressional, state, and local maps are being drawn, approved, and challenged across the US, we’ve created a resource you can share that explains redistricting in quick and easy language!
Find this video and more on our YouTube page.