Tag Archives: United States

Rep. John Lewis Speaks Out against Voter Suppression legislation being brought to the floor of Congress – in 2012


May 10, 2012 by    

it is hard and difficult and almost unbelievable that any member, especially a member from the state of georgia, would come and offer such amendment. there’s a long history in our country, especially in the 11 states that are — of the old confederacy from virginia to texas, a discrim — of discrimination based on race. on color. maybe some of us need to study a little contemporary history dealing with the question of voting rights. just think, before the voting rights act of 1965, it was almost impossible for many people in the state of georgia, in alabama new york virginia, in texas, to register to vote, to participate in the democratic process. the state of mississippi, for example, had a black voting aged population of more than 450,000 and only about 16,000 were registered to vote. one county in alabama was more than 80% but not more than — but not a single registered african-american voter, people had to pass a literacy test. one man was asked to count the jelly beans in a jar. it’s shameful to come here tonight and say to the department of justice you must not use one penny, one cent, one dime, one dollar to carry out the mandate of section 5 of the voting rights act. we should be opening up the political process and letting all our citizens come in and participate. people died for the right to vote. friends of mine. colleagues of mine. speak out against this amendment. it doesn’t have a place. i yield to the chairman. this is — i agree with the chairman. this is not the place. i will not yield. i urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment.

The March on Washington is a people’s movement … ~~NAACP ~ ~


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The Supreme Court decision in Shelby County vs. Holder this summer shook
the very foundation of the Voting Rights Act. The very same Voting
Rights Act that brought tens of thousands of activists to march on
Washington in August, 1963.

On that hot summer day, people from every corner of our country united
for a momentous event, rallying around a shared message of civil
liberty, civil rights, and economic freedom and opportunity for all.

Fifty years later, it’s time for us to march again. The NAACP, along
with the National Action Network, Realizing the Dream, and many other
conveners will host a march in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the March on Washington.

We remain inspired by the titans of our movement — Wilkins, Parks, King
and more — who marched at a pivotal time in the fight for civil rights.
And if our experience this year has shown us anything, it’s that we are
at another pivotal moment in history.

Discriminatory laws cripple the chances of too many people, of all ages
and backgrounds, who want nothing more than a shot at the American
Dream.

Voter disenfranchisement prevents far too many Americans from having
free and unfettered access to the ballot box, and keeps our most
vulnerable citizens from having proper representation in government.

And far, far too many of our children are gunned down in senseless acts
of violence every day. We march in the name of Trayvon Martin and other
victims of racial profiling and gun violence.

We’ve made incredible progress, but we have a long way to go. We must
carry the torch of freedom and equality forward for the next generation.
So we march again on August 24th. We march for those who have been
trampled by injustice, and for all our heroes who marched 50 years ago.
This grassroots movement belongs to you.
The size, the strength, and the power of our movement depends on you.

 

Thank you,
Ben
Benjamin Todd Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP

“Jim Foley’s Life Stands in Stark Contrast to His Killers”


 

“Jim Foley’s Life Stands in Stark Contrast to His Killers”

 

~ President Barack Obama

 

 

 

consumer.ftc.gov ~~~ summer


Crooks use clever schemes to defraud millions of people every year. They often combine sophisticated technology with age-old tricks to get people to send money or give out personal information. They add new twists to old schemes and pressure people to make important decisions on the spot. One thing that never changes: they follow the headlines — and the money.

Stay a step ahead with the latest info and practical tips from the nation’s consumer protection agency. Browse FTC scam alerts by topic or by most recent.

Most Recent Scam Alerts

Mississippi, 1964


Civil Rights Workers.jpg

 

MichaelSchwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney had only just begun working on the Freedom Summer campaign to register black Mississippians to vote when they suddenly disappeared.

Schwerner and Goodman were two Jewish men from New York—they had been there less than a week—and Chaney was a local black activist. They had just finished investigating the bombing of a nearby church when theywere taken into custody under false pretenses, and never again seen by their fellow volunteers.The disappearance of these three men sparked national outrage, and the FBI converged on Mississippi to investigate. They discovered that on June 21, 1964, immediately upon being released from custody, the young activists had been brutally beaten and murdered by a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob. The FBI’s investigation led to the first successful federal prosecution of a civil rights case in Mississippi.

 the anniversary of the day we lost these brave defenders of civil rights. Here are two things you can do to commemorate this day:

First, pledge to vote this November to honor the sacrifices made by Freedom Summer activists for our right to vote.

Then, share this graphic on Facebook to honor these three fallen activists.

Share this graphic
The circumstances under which we fight may have changed, but our values remain constant. All Americans, regardless of income or the color of their skin, must be able to freely exercise their constitutional right to vote.

The work of civil rights activists to protect this right did not stop when Freedom Summer ended, or even with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As long as there are legislators fighting to keep our most vulnerable populations away from the polls, our work and our struggle continues.

Join your voice with your fellow champions of civil and human rights. Take just one minute to do these things:

Pledge to exercise your hard-won right to vote in November.

http://action.naacp.org/My-Vote-2014

Share this graphic to honor the ongoing fight for voting rights.

http://action.naacp.org/Honor-Freedom-Summer

In solidarity,

Lorraine C. Miller
Interim President and CEO
NAACP