“The Vote is the most important non-violent tool we have.”
The Honorable Congressman John Lewis
During the first presidential candidates’ debate, we heard more than one provocative dog-whistle for voter intimidation. We will not sit idly on the sidelines and be deprived of our fundamental rights. And we will not give comfort to those attempting to spread fear and hatred.
The challenges confronting the Black community in 2020 are well documented: police killings, an inadequate response to the Coronavirus, mass unemployment, and systematic racism. We now face a concerted effort to suppress and disenfranchise the Black community’s inalienable right to vote.
In 2013, the Supreme Court eroded many of the vital protections contained in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Many states have made it increasingly difficult for minorities to vote. We face the same challenges our community had to fight against in the 1950s and ’60s. And in the spirit of the late Congressman Lewis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, we too must have a plan of action.
Today, we launch Protect Our People to organize and train our community to serve as volunteer poll monitors in their neighborhoods. We estimate we will need more than 5000 volunteers to protect the polls to ensure that our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues can exercise their lawful right to vote in a peaceful and safe environment. And while we call on Black people to stand up and stand firm as we head to the polls, we need everyone to join us.
Rise and stand with us at the polls. We must act today to protect our freedoms of tomorrow. Our collective presence on the electoral process’s frontlines will send a clear message that the Black community is prepared to stand tall, with allies, and unite toward progress.
In Solidarity,
Derrick Johnson
Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson
Patrisse Cullors
Judith Browne Dianis
Isiah Thomas
Leon Russell
Karen Boykin-Towns
LaToia Jones
Rev. Leah Daughtry
Phillip Agnew
Alice Huffman
Hazel N. Dukes
Rev. Al Sharpton
Melanie Campbell
Nile Rodgers
Russell Taylor
Everett B. Ward, Ph.D.
Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover
Reuben A. Shelton III, Esq.
Dr. David Marion
Beverly E. Smith
Micheal E. Cristal
Valerie Hollingsworth Baker
Rasheeda S. Liberty
Andre R. Manson
Michael Boatman
Kyra Mitchell
William Lucy
Helen Myers
Courtland Cox
Rev. Dr. William Barber II
Jamal R. Watkins
Tyler McBride
Glynda Carr
DeJoiry McKenzie-Simmons
Dwayne Proctor, PhD.
Michael A. Curry
Tiffany Dena Loftin
Curtis Symonds
Raymond Curry
Hilary Shelton
Theresa A. Dear
Dominik Whitehead
Kimberly Jeffries Leonard
Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown
Gerald Hudson
Alphonso Braggs
Roslyn M. Brock
Virginia Case
Ra’Vynn Waters
Yvonne White
Robin Williams
Eris Sims
James Woodall
John Gibson
Danielle Sydnor
Rev. Alvin Herring
Tiffany Flowers
Dr. Garth Graham
Rev. Dr. Zina Pierre
Jerushia Wrighten-Kelly
Tamer Mokthar
Montague Simmons
Dr. John E. Arradondo
Maya J. Bermingham
Alaina C. Beverly
Lori George Billingsley
Janette McCarthy Wallace
Stephanie Owens
Stephanie Jones
Madie Robinson
Larcine Bland
Yumeka Rushing
Tori O’Neal
Zafar J. Brooks
Chaka Bugess
Brittney Calloway
Georgette Dixon
Angela Dorn
Edward Foster Simeon
Patrick R. Gaston
James Harris
Thomas L. Kalahar
Shazzia Khan
Tanya Leah Lombard
Nathaniel Miles
Rev. Keith Norman
Wisdom Cole
Dr. Lonnie Randolph
Barbara Sapp Davis
Esther Silver Parker
Stephanie Silverman
John Spinnato
CeLois Steele
Michael R. Twyman, Ph.D
LaChandra White
Roy L. Williams
Kathleen Wilson-Thompson
Carole Young
Akosua Ali
Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony
Wandra Ashley-Williams
Ophelia Avverti
Fred Banks, Jr.
Gary Bledsoe
Barbara Bolling-Williams
Debra Brown
Ericka Cain
Rick L. Callender
Juan M. Cofield
Carolyn Q. Coleman
Raoul Cunningham
Dedric L. Doolin
Edward DuBose
Katherine T. Egland
Scot X. Esdaile
Charnell Ferguson
James Gallman
John Gaskin III
George Gresham
Wendell J. Harris, Sr.
Ron Hasson
Morandon Henry
Leonard James III
Howard Jefferson
Thomas L. Kalahar
Alan B. Lazowski
Adora Obi Nweze
James C. Perkins
Rabbi Jonah Pesner
Dennis V. Proctor
Steven Ricard
Traelon Rodgers
Peter Rose
Alfred Rucks
Benard Simelton
Richard T. Smith
Rev. Dr. Gina Stewart
Gloria J. Sweet-Love
Marvin F. Thomas, Sr.
Jesse H. Turner, Jr.
Michael T. Turner
David Walker
Gina Lawrence
Jonathon Lewis
Takiyah Jefferson
Joel Alvarado
Kenneth Worles
Toine Murphy
Jerry Primm
Michael Cogbill
Marcus Fairley
Joan Hollingsworth
Travaris Mccurdy
Joy Williams
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