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Hi there – it’s Quentin James, Founder and President of The Collective PAC.
I’m reaching out to you via our new Substack page, where we’re taking our mission of building Black political power further. We hope to create a space here where we can go deeper on the issues and talk about what’s really at stake – in our country, in this upcoming election year, and beyond.
Today, I want to talk about the Voting Rights Act, the erosion of this landmark legislation, and what we must do to protect our sacred right to vote and our democracy itself.
Sixty years ago, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became one of the most transformative pieces of legislation in American history. It was born from sacrifice, protest, and the unwavering insistence that a democracy cannot function when citizens are denied a voice. For decades, the VRA stood as a safeguard – an assurance that the right to vote would not be contingent on race, geography, or the whims of Republicans determined to silence our voices.
But today, that safeguard is eroding through a steady series of Supreme Court decisions that have hollowed out the core protections of the VRA. With each new decision dismantling a piece of the VRA, states have begun implementing new restrictions: strict ID laws, polling place closures, reduced early voting, aggressive voter roll purges, and more.
These changes are designed to burden voters – and they intentionally and disproportionately affect communities of color. Piece by piece, the VRA is being weakened. Piece by piece, the guardrails designed to ensure equal access to the ballot box are being removed.
Now, the Supreme Court is poised to gut the last remaining tenets of the Voting Rights Act – clearing the way for racist gerrymandering and allowing our voices to be drowned out. We cannot sit idly by and watch it happen.
A recent poll shows that three in four Americans believe democracy is at risk. They’re right. But here’s what we must remember: the Voting Rights Act itself was not inevitable. It was demanded into existence. It was built by people who refused to accept a democracy that worked for some but not for all. We must continue that fight.
This moment calls for a collective response – from organizations, from voters, from legal advocates, and from elected leaders who recognize that the health of our democracy is inseparable from the strength of our voting rights protections.
That’s why, for the past 10 years, The Collective PAC has been working to create a more representative democracy and fix the challenge of under-representation of the Black community in elected seats of power throughout our nation.
Rebuilding and defending democracy isn’t a simple task, and it’s not about one election – it’s a long-term project that requires educating voters, countering disinformation, supporting candidates who champion voting rights, holding institutions accountable, and sustaining grassroots infrastructure that reaches voters year-round.
Together, we can meet this moment with the urgency it deserves.
Thank you,
Quentin James
Founder & President, The Collective PAC
Paid for by the Collective PAC; not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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