The Voting Rights Act is Our Problem
by Mandla Deskins--Program Associate, Voting Rights
In June (2013) the Supreme Court overturned a key portion of the VRA, rendering Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act toothless until Section 4 is reinstated by congress.
Understandably, some of us feel like this is less pressing in a time when guns, mass incarceration, out of reach education, and even faulty policies that incentivize murder based on race, are chipping away at our livelihoods. But we couldn’t be more wrong.
Watch this video discussing the Supreme Court Decisions of June 2013.
We must remember that Florida’s elected officials passed stand your ground legislation, that elected officials fought against gun control, and that elected officials allowed our colleges to be defunded. Without the ability to elect officials that can speak on our behalf, we have no voice in the problems or solutions plaguing us the most. And without the VRA being fully operational, we lose a crucial voter protection operation that was able to block harmful legislation, targeting specific groups and subsequently younger generations, since its inception in 1965.
Heading into the 2014 midterm election year our vote is and will remain under attack. We should be clear that more than 80 voter suppression bills were introduced last year, and all have a component targeting our voice. The Voting Rights Act is the single most important protection for our voices and our nation. We must make sure congress takes concrete steps to fix it.
Join the Campaign and let your voices be heard!
NAACP Youth and College, today I challenge college chapters from across the nation to organize and mobilize on behalf of the VRA and Section 4.
To find out more about the VRA campaign and the Y/C voting rights campaign, please visit the online hub for NAACP Youth & College Voting Rights at the link below. You will find social media resources, updates, materials and more!
Apply for NAACP Youth and College Campus Voting Rights Advocacy Grant!
We are aware that budgets are tight and advocacy can cost, so we will be offering $250 mini-grants to help 12 creative, organized and ambitious NAACP College chapters across the nation organize and act. DEADLINE EXTENDED to 1/30!
To apply, or get more information about the grant, please click the link below to download the request for proposal form. Please remember that decisions will be made on a variety of factors— including, creativeness, intercampus partnerships, and strength of proposal— so make it good!
Click here to apply for the NAACP Youth and College Campus Action Grant.
