By Black Star News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
National Action Network founder Rev. Al Sharpton released the following statement on the eve of the 60 anniversary of then President Lydon Johnson’s signing of the 1965 Voting Right Act:
“It has never been more crucial than now that we remain fiercely committed to defending the right to vote. Dr. King knew that the right to vote is the fundamental right from which all others flow. That truth is exactly why the VRA was the most significant civil rights legislation of the 20th Century. Sixty years after its signing, the VRA stands as one of America’s most hard-won achievements, secured through protest, sacrifice, and a movement that refused to yield.
“Republican governors and legislatures like those in Texas are specifically targeting VRA-protected districts, rigging maps to lock in GOP advantage ahead of the Midterms. They fear it will be the only way that they can protect their razor-thin margin in the House. This latest effort is not the start of the assault on the VRA but rather a clear prioritization of efforts to erase minority representation in Congress. Millions of Black and Brown voters in deep red states now face the prospect of having their voices silenced and their power stripped away at the ballot box because of how weak the VRA stands in its current form.
“What voters now face is a sophisticated architecture of exclusion. Gerrymandered districts predetermine outcomes. Voter roll purges systematically target Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. Mail-in voting restrictions and strict ID laws suppress students, disabled individuals, and older adults. Polling sites vanish from the neighborhoods that rely on them most. And coordinated disinformation campaigns flood communities of color, immigrants and LGBTQIA+ voters. These are not isolated actions; they are pieces of a deliberate strategy to manipulate participation and preserve political control.
“If we do not organize, legislate and litigate like our lives depend on it, the gains that our forbearers risked and in some cases gave their lives for will be erased. This is not the time for commemoration, it’s a call to action. Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and restore robust protections for every American voter. If we do not organize, legislate, and fight with the same resolve shown by those who won the VRA in 1965, the hard-fought gains of past generations risk being erased. The right to vote is not simply a legacy to honor but a power to defend because democracy demands nothing less.”
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