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Voting rights activists, led by U.S. Rep. and Congressional Black Caucus chair Joyce Beatty (D-OH), demonstrate at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill to protest multiple GOP state and federal efforts to restrict the right to vote. Beatty and eight other black women were later arrested. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the death of civil rights icon and king of Good Trouble John Lewis, who for over 50 righteous years fought and bled for what he deemed the "soul and heart of the democratic process" - the right to vote. Amidst pernicious attacks on that vital right by state and Congressional Repubs, the week also saw protesters on Capitol Hill leading a still-urgent call to "Let the people vote." For their trouble, nine black women were zip-tied and arrested - like Lewis and so many others, but unlike any of thousands of riotous Jan. 6 domestic terrorists. Weird.
This week marked the one-year anniversary of the death of the civil rights icon, conscience of Congress and king of Good Trouble John Lewis, who over 50 years fought, bled and almost died for what he deemed "the soul and heart of the democratic process" - the right to vote. With state and Congressional Republicans shamelessly working to shred that sacred right - and with gerrymandering, the filibuster and the Supreme Court on their side - civil rights leaders and other sentient beings are struggling to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, or For the People Act, to protect Lewis' legacy and his core belief in "the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy." Three weeks ago, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber were arrested during a protest over voting rights and the filibuster; last week Texas Dems fled the state to protect their own constituents' rights as civil rights groups met with Biden to urge him to do more; Friday, black women organizers met with Kamala Harris to do the same. And Thursday, Rep. Joyce Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, led a protest at the Hart Senate Office building, where they linked arms, sang "We Shall Overcome" and "This Little Light of Mine, and insisted, still, "Let the people vote." "We have come too far and fought too hard to see everything systematically dismantled (by) those who wish to silence us." Beatty said in a statement, later adding, "This is not a black issue...It's an American issue." For making Good Trouble, she and eight other black women were zip-tied and arrested - like Lewis and many before her, but, she noted, unlike any of the thousands of domestic terrorists who rioted Jan. 6, which was weird.
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This week marked the one-year anniversary of the death of the civil rights icon, conscience of Congress and king of Good Trouble John Lewis, who over 50 years fought, bled and almost died for what he deemed "the soul and heart of the democratic process" - the right to vote. With state and Congressional Republicans shamelessly working to shred that sacred right - and with gerrymandering, the filibuster and the Supreme Court on their side - civil rights leaders and other sentient beings are struggling to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, or For the People Act, to protect Lewis' legacy and his core belief in "the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy." Three weeks ago, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber were arrested during a protest over voting rights and the filibuster; last week Texas Dems fled the state to protect their own constituents' rights as civil rights groups met with Biden to urge him to do more; Friday, black women organizers met with Kamala Harris to do the same. And Thursday, Rep. Joyce Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, led a protest at the Hart Senate Office building, where they linked arms, sang "We Shall Overcome" and "This Little Light of Mine, and insisted, still, "Let the people vote." "We have come too far and fought too hard to see everything systematically dismantled (by) those who wish to silence us." Beatty said in a statement, later adding, "This is not a black issue...It's an American issue." For making Good Trouble, she and eight other black women were zip-tied and arrested - like Lewis and many before her, but, she noted, unlike any of the thousands of domestic terrorists who rioted Jan. 6, which was weird.
This week marked the one-year anniversary of the death of the civil rights icon, conscience of Congress and king of Good Trouble John Lewis, who over 50 years fought, bled and almost died for what he deemed "the soul and heart of the democratic process" - the right to vote. With state and Congressional Republicans shamelessly working to shred that sacred right - and with gerrymandering, the filibuster and the Supreme Court on their side - civil rights leaders and other sentient beings are struggling to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, or For the People Act, to protect Lewis' legacy and his core belief in "the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy." Three weeks ago, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber were arrested during a protest over voting rights and the filibuster; last week Texas Dems fled the state to protect their own constituents' rights as civil rights groups met with Biden to urge him to do more; Friday, black women organizers met with Kamala Harris to do the same. And Thursday, Rep. Joyce Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, led a protest at the Hart Senate Office building, where they linked arms, sang "We Shall Overcome" and "This Little Light of Mine, and insisted, still, "Let the people vote." "We have come too far and fought too hard to see everything systematically dismantled (by) those who wish to silence us." Beatty said in a statement, later adding, "This is not a black issue...It's an American issue." For making Good Trouble, she and eight other black women were zip-tied and arrested - like Lewis and many before her, but, she noted, unlike any of the thousands of domestic terrorists who rioted Jan. 6, which was weird.