Call on the Attorney General to Publicly Stand for Full Restoration of the Voting Rights Act

Please add your name to an open letter calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to take a public stand for the full restoration of the Voting Rights Act at https://action.groundswell-mvmt.org/petitions/open-letter-to-attorney-general-sessions-join-us-in-selma-on-the-right-side-of-history.

We are coming up on the 52nd Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, which awoke the conscience of the nation and spurred the birth of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yet we are living in a time of unprecedented attacks on the hard-won voting rights of African Americans and all people of color.

This Sunday marks 1,349 days since the 2013 Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder, weakened Section 5 of the VRA, opening the door to voting law changes without federal pre-clearance in states with a history of discrimination. The Republican-led Congress has refused to fix and fully restore the Voting Rights Act, which means we have less voting rights protections today than on August 6th, 1965 when the VRA was passed. This is especially devastating in the South.

The justice department has a responsibility to protect the vulnerable from the tyrannies of racism and inequality. None of us can stand on the sidelines as voting rights are being stripped away by extremist legislators around the country.

Please join our call for Attorney General Sessions to take a public stand for the full restoration of voting rights, human rights, and for equal justice under the law.

One of the great political tragedies of 2016 was that there was not one debate or substantive conversation about the immediate and full restoration of the VRA.

We know claims of vast voter fraud are proven lies, but the courts have shown that voter suppression efforts are alive and well in our country. The time for restoration of the Voting Rights Act is now. We will not be moved in our determination to demand that we live up to the full promises and obligations of our Constitution and to stand with the people of these United States against the scourge of racism and for our deepest held moral values.

Fifty-two years later, our nation has an obligation to the martyrs of Selma. We must stand up against systemic racism and all attempts to suppress the vote. Please add your name calling on Attorney General Sessions to protect our country’s future.