Ring Your Rep to Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

Today, September 18th, is the first annual National Black Voter Day. According to Vote.org, Black Americans are four times more likely than white Americans to experience injustice and discrimination while at the polls or engaging in politics. To increase the power of the collective Black vote, and honor the life and legacy of John Lewis, Ring your Rep to encourage local officials to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This act protects our right to vote and defends against voter discrimination. 

John Lewis was an American Civil Rights Leader, recognized as one of the big six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. He served in the United States Congress for more than 30 years, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011. As a central organizer of the 1961 Freedom Rides, Lewis went on to lead the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), speaking at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the age of 23. Two years later, in 1965, in what would become infamously known as "Bloody Sunday," Lewis led more than 600 hundred peaceful protesters in a march for voting rights, who were be beaten by dozens of state troopers in Selma, Alabama. The events of this day shocked the nation and led to the eventual passing of The Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices that disproportionately affected Black people. 

However, in 2013, The Supreme Court entirely gutted the core of this act, by allowing nine (mostly Southern) states to change their election laws without federal approval. This lead to several states passing voter suppression laws that disproportionately affected people of color, and elderly and first-time voters. Passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will increase voting policy transparency, for a fair and balanced process at the polls. 

See the full script below to make the calls and make change.