Did you know that the modern battle over voting rights can be traced back to Alabama?

Almost 10 years ago, Shelby County v. Holder forever changed the face of who can vote, and it all started in Alabama. In 2013 Shelby County, Alabama filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and it was Black organizers who intervened as their communities faced another fight for their constitutional freedoms.

The conservative majority ruled that states could change their election laws without advance federal approval. This SCOTUS ruling had both immediate and long term consequences — hurting Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and voters of color the most. Quickly, GOP state legislatures across the South enacted voter ID laws and made sure that redistricting maps wouldn’t have federal oversight.

Why? To hold control of the South and ensure voters of color, who often flip states red-to-blue, would not be able to practice their constitutional freedom.

Join our team in backing organizers in Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia who fuel the movement towards a more just world.

We are going out of our way to show support for local organizers in Alabama who have long been fighting voter suppression, even when their own state is working to take their rights away. Groundwork is committed to investing in year round organizing infrastructure as the best way to build power, remedy injustice, and bring progressive change.

Join Groundwork Project in sustaining organizations that have been in this fight for decades. Contribute to Groundwork’s grant fund, here.

-Team Groundwork