President Joe Biden is facing calls to push the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act as his State of the Union address falls on the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.”
The late John Lewis was among those who marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965, when state troopers met these protesters with violence. While the event preceded the Voting Rights Act of that year, the day was known as “Bloody Sunday” due to the multiple injuries suffered, which included 17 hospitalizations, including Lewis, who received treatment for a cracked skull.
Voting rights activists called on the president to advance the latest rendition of legislation named after Lewis, who later served in the House of Representatives. The legislation has passed the House but has yet to be voted on by the Senate. It calls for clearance from the Department of Justice before states enact voting restrictions. Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright expressed his desire to hear the president speak on the legislation on the anniversary.
“Our hope is that in his speech on Thursday, he’ll mention two pending voting rights bills: the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act,” Albright told news outlet Capital B. “We’d love to hear a commitment from him that, on day one if he’s reelected, he’ll call on Congress to make it possible for him to sign those bills.”
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is challenging voting restrictions in Texas and Georgia. Its international president, Elsie Cooke-Holmes, agreed that “the true remedy” to protect voting rights “lies in federal intervention.”
Biden also received an open letter from activist groups encouraging him to push the act to his desk. The letter was signed by the Sierra Club, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and the National Urban League, among others.
“Our organizations advocate for solutions on a wide range of issues critical to the success of our
nation. While our causes may be distinct, we write today united in our shared belief that our
democracy is under attack and that protecting it is paramount,” the letter read.
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The Rev. Al Sharpton similarly brought up the “racial gaps in this country” to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a television interview on Thursday. From the reverend’s perspective, black voters have become “less than enthusiastic about [the Biden] campaign.”
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Selma earlier this week to deliver her own address regarding the Bloody Sunday anniversary. She promised she and the president are continuing “to demand that the United States Congress pass” the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.