(NNPA) — On February 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires pre-clearance from the federal government before states can take action that might reduce the Black vote. The case was initiated by Alabama officials who sought to prevent the reelection of the sole African American elected official in Shelby County, Alabama, by redrawing district lines, thus significantly decreasing the number of Black voters in the district.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, representing seven Black ministers, will argue the case on February 27. The Fund will also hold an intense workshop on this matter in Selma, Alabama, during the Bridge Crossing Jubilee on March 2.
Ironically, this challenge to the Voting Rights Act came three days after President Obama won his historic re-election on November 6, 2012, and while the National Committee to Commemorate the Voting Rights Act was planning the 50th anniversary of the struggle for the right to vote. There will be nothing to celebrate if the act is found unconstitutional.
Organizations, including the NAACP, The Rainbow Coalition, National Action Network, National Voting Rights Museum, Urban League, and many other state and regional organizations, are asking people to be present at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D. C. in great numbers on February 27 to express concern about this attack on the right to vote.
On March 3, four days later, there will be a national march from Selma to Montgomery, leaving from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, to protest this most recent attack on the right to vote. For further information, call Sen. Hank Sanders at 334-526-4531, or e-mail admin@thebridgecrossingjubilee.org.
