Weekend of Events Include: Virtual Summit to provide Effective Strategies to Combat Voter Suppression Tactics as General Election Draws Near, Voting Rights Act of 1965; 55th Anniversary Celebration and March as well as a Virtual Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Training Sessions
By: The Voting Rights Alliance
VRA of 1965 55th Anniversary Celebration & March
WASHINGTON – July 31, 2020 — “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” decried Congressman John Lewis referencing standing up to protect voting rights in America. With the General Election quickly approaching, a diverse group of national organizations have joined forces for a three-day, virtual “Voting Rights Act Summit Weekend” to answer the call that Congressman John Lewis proposed regarding protecting voting rights for all Americans.
Summit conveners include: the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Barbara R. Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl D. Jones, Esq. under the auspices of the Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) and The Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC), led by Arnwine and Rev. Jackson, respectively. The Summit will be held Thursday, August 6 through Saturday, August 8, 2020.
Arnwine, the founder and president of TJC and former president/CEO of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Law, seeks to be a catalyst for transformative institutional change that brings about justice and equality in the U.S. and abroad. Jones currently serves as board chair for TJC.
Reverend Jackson, the established, revered leader and battering ram for social justice, is the founder and president of RPC. Reverend Jackson continues his efforts to lead the multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international membership-supported organization in its decades-long goal of fighting for social change.
Attorney Arnwine says we must not allow “virus voter suppression to infect our election.”
“It is imperative that we provide safe options for all voters to cast their ballots, whether by mail, drop box, curbside or in-person voting,” she said. “It is the bedrock principle of American democracy that people be provided the right to safely exercise their right to vote.”
Reverend Jackson says protecting the right and facilitating the streamlined effort to vote for communities of color remains as important in 2020 as at any time in his storied civil rights career.
“There are many agendas out there but no agenda is more important than the vote!” he said.
You are invited to join Rev. Jackson, Arnwine and Jones, along with other leaders, activists and organizations from across the nation in their efforts to achieve the following goals: combating voter suppression;
TJC Board Chairman Jones said, “55 years ago, Congressman John Lewis stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge demanding the right to vote for people and communities of color. In 2020, we must stand together to be certain that the right to vote for people of color is not hijacked by voter poachers!”
Additional supporters of and spokespersons for the summit include: Ayanna Gregory, daughter of Dick Gregory; Thomasina W. Yearwood, president, Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc.; the Rev. Bernice A. King, CEO, The Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change; Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., president/CEO of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Thurgood Marshall, Jr., Esq., son of Justice Thurgood Marshall; and the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president/senior lecturer, Repairers of the Breach.
This free event seeks to protect America’s vote with additional sponsors including: the National Organization of Women, the National Election Defense Coalition, the NAACP, the Hip Hop Caucus, the NNPA (BlackPressUSA), National Education Association, Vote.org and Moms Arising.
For more information on how to participate or support their efforts, visit: www.votingrightsalliance.org.
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