Representatives of labor and the civil rights movement met October 26 at 1199SEIU’s Manhattan headquarters to lay plans for a huge December 10 protest against the voter suppression efforts that are sweeping the nation.
“We are witnessing the greatest attack on the right to vote in 100 years,” declared Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the National NAACP. “This year already, two-thirds of state legislatures have introduced laws that undermine the right to vote,” Jealous told the meeting participants. “If they can take away our right to vote, they can take away everything else.”
The meeting had two objectives: To inform the participants of the urgency of the issue and to begin plans to mobilize thousands for the December 10 march and rally from the Manhattan headquarters of the Koch brothers – energy-industry billionaires who are among the chief funders of the extreme right – to the UN and Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. The UN was chosen because December 10 is international human rights day.
The meeting was chaired by Leslie Cagan, a long-time progressive organizer who has piloted many mass mobilizations and campaigns. She pinpointed voter ID requirements, proof of citizenship and elimination of early voting as three of the chief measures that are being used to reduce voter turnout.
“This effort is unprecedented, it is coordinated, and it is targeted,” Cagan noted. African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, students, working women, seniors and immigrants of all colors will be disproportionately affected.”
Keesha Gaskins, a senior counsel at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, cited the Center’s report, “Voting Law Changes in 2012”, which describes many of the state government laws that make it harder to register and to vote.
Ryan Haywood of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund drew gasps from the audience when he described how most of the measures clearly target specific groups. He said, “In Texas, a college ID is not considered adequate identification to register but a concealed-gun license is.”
Much of his remarks centered on Florida’s drastic reduction of early voting and the disenfranchising of former felons there.
“We won’t let them take back our rights and we’re not going back,” declared Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP NY State Conference. She called for the broadest coalition possible to build for December 10.
1199SEIU Secretary Treasurer Maria Castaneda said, “We are throwing our entire support behind this effort. We see December 10 as an important kick-off that needs to be sustained throughout the year.”
For information log on to www.stand4freedom.org.
“We are witnessing the greatest attack on the right to vote in 100 years,” declared Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the National NAACP. “This year already, two-thirds of state legislatures have introduced laws that undermine the right to vote,” Jealous told the meeting participants. “If they can take away our right to vote, they can take away everything else.”
The meeting had two objectives: To inform the participants of the urgency of the issue and to begin plans to mobilize thousands for the December 10 march and rally from the Manhattan headquarters of the Koch brothers – energy-industry billionaires who are among the chief funders of the extreme right – to the UN and Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. The UN was chosen because December 10 is international human rights day.
The meeting was chaired by Leslie Cagan, a long-time progressive organizer who has piloted many mass mobilizations and campaigns. She pinpointed voter ID requirements, proof of citizenship and elimination of early voting as three of the chief measures that are being used to reduce voter turnout.
“This effort is unprecedented, it is coordinated, and it is targeted,” Cagan noted. African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, students, working women, seniors and immigrants of all colors will be disproportionately affected.”
Keesha Gaskins, a senior counsel at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, cited the Center’s report, “Voting Law Changes in 2012”, which describes many of the state government laws that make it harder to register and to vote.
Ryan Haywood of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund drew gasps from the audience when he described how most of the measures clearly target specific groups. He said, “In Texas, a college ID is not considered adequate identification to register but a concealed-gun license is.”
Much of his remarks centered on Florida’s drastic reduction of early voting and the disenfranchising of former felons there.
“We won’t let them take back our rights and we’re not going back,” declared Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP NY State Conference. She called for the broadest coalition possible to build for December 10.
1199SEIU Secretary Treasurer Maria Castaneda said, “We are throwing our entire support behind this effort. We see December 10 as an important kick-off that needs to be sustained throughout the year.”
For information log on to www.stand4freedom.org.
