By LaKeshia N. Myers “A charge to keep, I have; a God to glorify! A never dying soul to save and fitted for the sky.” To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill; Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage To do my Master’s will!” I was reminded of that old Dr. Watts hymn, […]
It’s Time to End The Assault on Voting Rights
By Alex Lasry The assault on voting rights across America continues with Texas becoming the latest state to pass new restrictive voting laws since the 2020 election. Nineteen states have now enacted 31 new laws that make it harder to vote in those states. This new wave of restrictive voting laws is the most aggressive […]
When It Comes to Protecting Voting Rights, We’ll Keep Coming
Legislatively Speaking By Senator Lena C. Taylor This week I boarded a plane and headed to Washington, D.C. Like legislators from more than 30 states, I joined other Wisconsin Democratic elected officials in calling for the U.S. Senate to pass the For the People Act. The plane ride was eerie. I couldn’t shake the idea, […]
Jim Crow 2.0: Why Congress Must Pass the For the People Act
By LaKeshia N. Myers Fifty-six years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, which ended the deleterious practices of poll taxes, literacy tests, questionnaires and violence used to bar African Americans from the ballot box. In many southern states, egregious exercises in voter intimidation occurred; in some instances, the name, […]
The Movement for Justice Will Not Be Deterred
By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. The right-wing majority on the Supreme Court just undercut the Voting Rights Act again. Having gutted the section that required pre-approval of state voting laws to protect the rights of minorities to vote in Shelby v. Holder, Republican-appointed justices now have castrated the backup clause — Section 2 — […]
‘This is our fight’: We Must Defend the Right to Vote
By Alex Lasry Across the country and even right here in Wisconsin, Republicans are attacking the very foundation of our democracy – the constitutional right to vote. Free and fair elections that reflect the will of the American people are at stake. Under the guise of preventing non-existent election fraud, Republicans are deciding who gets […]
The 19th Amendment Celebrates 100 Years
By Ana Martinez-Ortiz Tuesday, Aug. 18 marked 100 years since American women were given the right to vote. The 19th Amendment became a part of the Constitution in 1920, 50 years after the 15th Amendment passed. For white women, the amendment guaranteed their right but for many Black women the fight wasn’t yet over. According […]
Stacey Abrams On Wisconsin, Voting and The Future of America
By Ana Martinez-Ortiz As a child, Stacey Abrams’ parents used to take her and her siblings to the voting booth whenever it was an election day. It was one of her first introductions to civic engagement and politics. Years down the line, Abrams is known as a voting rights activist, politician, author and more. Last […]
Hillary Clinton Supports Voting Rights
By Martha Love DNC Member Ruthelle Frank has been voting since 1948. A misspelling on her birth certificate means the 89- year old is unable to get a photo ID for voting, a restriction she’s challenging as the lead plaintiff in the suit against Wisconsin’s voter-ID law. Frank isn’t the only Wisconsinite who finds themselves […]
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Legislation
By Aubrey Koski March 20, 2015 Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of president Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 speech urging Congress to enact voting rights legislation. President Johnson’s speech, delivered before Congress on March 15, 1965, culminated in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the nation’s hallmark Civil Rights legislative […]