FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 13, 2018
CONTACT: [email protected]
WASHINGTON (September 13, 2018) – NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson provided the following commentary at a Congressional Black Caucus panel on the status of minority voting rights in the nation:
“As we look forward, we need to offer an opportunity to control the narrative and stop talking from a deficit. We understand very clearly that social justice is not a competition but a collaborative effort whether through age or knowledge. We as Black voters must stop conceding our profitability to the majority class. This is a game of interest and we need to turn out the vote. We have 2,200 local branches nationwide. We need to lean into where we are so that every community can organize to its fullest. There is too much at stake for the elections in November, and the decisions that we make now will have a five-year effect that will possibly change the entire face of our Congress. We each have the power, not just vote, but also to empower others to make our voices heard at the ballot box.”
President Derrick Johnson joined panelists Former US Attorney General Eric Holder, President & Director-Counsel NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., Sherrilyn Ifill and Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, during the A. Leon Higginbotham Memorial Voting Rights Braintrust to examine the status of voting rights for communities of color in the nation after the Supreme Court case Shelby County vs. Holder, which stripped vital protections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The panel, led by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge’s ( D-OH), also highlighted findings from the recent report: An Assessment of Minority Voting Rights Access in the United States.
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.
