The late John Lewis dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of voting rights for all Americans.
In 1965, a young Lewis was severely beaten marching for voting rights in Selma. Decades later, he would become “the conscience of the Congress,” and kept up his fight as a distinguished representative from Georgia.
But even fifty years after his valiant march in Selma, Lewis was still forced to defend voting rights.
In 2019, Lewis helped pass the Voting Rights Achievement Act, which would restore voting right protections established by the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.
However, the VRAA has sat on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk since its passage last December.
Meanwhile, the GOP continues its assault on voting rights -- aided by a complacent Supreme Court and a president willing to destroy the US Postal Service to get re-elected.
Now, after Lewis’ death, there is a renewed call by Democrats to pass the bill in the Senate as an honor to Lewis.
McConnell lauded Lewis as a “a pioneering civil rights leader who put his life on the line to fight racism, promote equal rights, and bring our nation into greater alignment with its founding principles.”
But those words ring hollow if McConnell continues to block the VRAA.
To truly honor John Lewis’ legacy, McConnell needs to pass the VRAA NOW.
Thank you,
The WDTO Team
