A Moral Campaign for Voting Rights Continues
By Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson, president of the Roanoke Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a member of People For the American Way’s African American Ministers In Action (AAMIA)

In March President Obama and Congressman John Lewis led thousands in commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a day marred by violence and police brutality against hundreds of civil rights activists. Graphic images from the events on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama shocked the nation and shed light on the blatant racial injustices experienced by African Americans in their fight for voting rights. It was a moral campaign that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.

The bravery of the Selma marchers, the sacrifices made by visionaries like Congressman Lewis, then chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. — along with countless other students, faith leaders, and ordinary Americans — contributed to the movement for the VRA, a law intended to end literacy tests, poll taxes, and other efforts to keep democracy for a select few. It was a direct product of years of effort, dedication, and commitment by those willing to put their safety and security, as well as those of their families, on the line to defend a fundamental right.
At 81 years young, it is still hard for me to believe how some things change and some things remain the same. Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of Shelby County v. Holder, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that gutted essential provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Despite Chief Justice Roberts’ insistence that Congress is free to pass new legislation addressing racial discrimination in voting, our elected leaders have so far failed to restore the protections eradicated by the decision, and I’m having a hard time understanding why.
I can still see the movement of thousands of people marching for dignity and justice in Selma for a country that would not be divided by the radical few. I now see afresh the movement of thousands because of recent events in South Carolina. Both stand as painful reminders of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. Racist attacks took place then and last Wednesday. The horrific massacre at the Emanuel AME church was a racist attack.

Congress has honored the lives and contributions of those 1965 protesters many times since by renewing VRA with bipartisan support. But in the wake of the Shelby County decision, many Republicans have prioritized partisan politics over voting rights, falsely claiming that they want to honor the legacy of civil rights activists while failing to follow through with tangible actions.
That has to change! On the Shelby County anniversary, activists from across the country will rally in Roanoke, Virginia, in the district of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte. Chairman Goodlatte has yet to even hold a hearing on legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act, ignoring his responsibility to residents of Virginia and to all Americans across the country who deserve a voting process free of discrimination, and I find that very disappointing.
The two-year mark of Shelby County represents more than the anniversary of a legal decision. It represents two years of increasingly restrictive voter legislation, two years of ongoing voting troubles for African Americans, students, the homeless, and others, and two years of inaction despite bipartisan support among voters for a restored Voting Rights Act.
While we reflect on these anniversaries, we must also look to the future. Racial discrimination in voting is still very real. If Congress continues on its path of inaction, 2016 will be the first presidential election in 50 years where states like Virginia, which have crafted legislation that disproportionately affect marginalized groups including African Americans, Latinos and other vulnerable groups — such as photo identification regulations, eliminating early voting days and cutting voting locations — will be allowed to go into effect while challenged in court, forcing voters to go without necessary protections established by the VRA. We have a moral obligation to make sure that doesn’t happen.

This weekend as I stood to speak at a rally, I found myself in an usual place; I was at a loss for words. We were commemorating Juneteenth at the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and I was overwhelmed by the connection of that day, the horrific massacre last Wednesday at the Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, and the absence still of non-negotiable voting rights for African Americans. All are about a legacy of blood shed by hate.
As a native of Roanoke, I have committed my life to defeating discrimination and the venom of racism. From registering people to vote from my front yard, to fighting against the closing of polling places, to helping create a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I remain committed to this moral campaign. I am no longer able to march to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial or the steps of my state capitol. But because of my commitment, I can still write and I can still call Congressman Goodlatte — and encourage others to do the same — to invite him to do the right thing, hold the hearings, and join this moral campaign for dignity and justice in 2015.
Yes, let’s recognize these anniversaries. Tell the stories again and again so the relevance and connections won’t be forgotten. Show again and again the faces of those young and old whose lives were lost or dramatically changed because of the color of their skin, so their ultimate sacrifice won’t be forgotten. Restore to its fullness the Voting Rights Act to ensure all Americans have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. So that hate, what was meant for harm, can be tucked away, minimized and even forgotten. It’s the moral thing to do.









