National Association of Social Workers (NASW) members on Thursday June 25 will travel to Roanoke, Virginia’s Elmwood Park to join civil rights groups and voting rights advocates in a rally to restore the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
June 25 markets the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision that gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The rally will be held in the district of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who has refused to act to work to pass legislation to restore voting rights.
While NASW rallies for voting rights and democracy in Roanoke, the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) will hold a press conference at the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, D.C. calling on Congress to restore the VRA—the civil rights legislation for which Martin Luther King and countless others fought so hard.
Free from federal oversight since the Shelby decision, lawmakers across the country have adopted discriminatory policies and voting restrictions that make it harder for Americans to exercise their constitutional right to the ballot. Despite overwhelming evidence of modern-day voting discrimination, Congress has failed to restore the VRA.
“It is absolutely shameful and unacceptable that in this 50th anniversary year of the VRA, Americans have the weakest voting protections than at any time since the VRA was passed in 1965. Congress must take action now to protect voters from discrimination and restore the VRA. The American people—and our democracy—can’t wait,” said Mel Wilson, NASW’s manager for Social Justice and Human Rights.
For more information on joining the rally contact NASW Social Justice and Human Rights Manager Mel Wilson at mwilson@naswdc.org.
