Heavy hitters urge Congressman Goodlatte to, “Hold a hearing!”
by S. Rotan Hale
Busses of demonstrators from Washington, DC, Richmond and Tidewater area rolled in to join a multifaceted coalition of locals who gathered Thursday, June 25 in front of the Main Library in downtown Roanoke to rally against one of the most significant challenges to democracy since the voting rights act was passed 50 years ago.
The hundreds that attended the event represented a cross section of America’s populace. For 3 hours a barrage of dynamic speakers from some of the nations most revered organizations took the podium and called for Virginia 6th District Congressman Bob Goodlatte to hold congressional hearings on a bill that would restore a key portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which the Supreme Court invalidated two years ago.
As head of the judiciary committee Goodlatte essentially holds the key that unlocks the future of voter equality in America.
One of the earliest on program to inspire the crowd was Roanoke City Councilman Bill Bestpitch who expressed, “This is not a liberal or conservative issue. This is not a republican or democratic issue. This is an issue of our American values!”
After thanking those who registered (that day), Councilman Bestpitch chided, “It doesn’t do any good to register if you don’t show up on Election Day… If you think your participation in democracy is all taken care of because you voted, think again because there are many opportunities for citizen input and citizen involvement every day of the year.”
In closing he thanked local NAACP president Brenda Hale and “all the organizations for reminding us that there’s still much work to be done,” and said, “Some of the clouds may have rolled away but the storm is not over yet.”
At the eye of that “storm” is Congressman Goodlatte who strongly contends, “The Voting Rights Act is alive and well. We’re certainly willing to look at any new evidence of discrimination, if there’s a need to take any measures. But at this point in time we have not seen that.”
At the heart of this issue is the Shelby County v. Holder U.S. Supreme Court decision, which struck down a section of the Voting Rights Act allowing Virginia and certain other states with a history of minority voter suppression, to circumvent pre-clearance measures by the U.S. Department of Justice before making changes to voting regulations. Such actions basically pave the way for discriminatory practices regarding voting rights.
“Congress can fix this if they will just vote on the bill presently before them that protects all Americans’ right to vote,” said Senator John Edwards who added “Congressman Goodlatte is a friend of mine but he is just wrong on this issue.”
As a Democrat, Sen. Edwards pointed out that “during the 2-year period when Republicans controlled the House, Senate and the governor’s seat in Virginia, they passed a series of laws that made it hard for people to vote.” Research shows that low voter turnout equates to Republican victories.
Keeping everybody fired up between the many high-profile speakers was event MC Lennox Yearwood, Jr. who led many of the rousing chants that rang out during the event. Yearwood is a minister and activist who is president of the Hip Hop Caucus, an organization that promotes political action among young people. “Organized people beats organized money any day,” said Yearwood, speaking on the significance of mobilizing people.
“The reason we are here today is to restore the voting rights act but more importantly to see what kind of country we will be… this is about humanity,” said Yearwood who also solemnly mentioned the recent Charleston, SC massacre and other racial atrocities currently plaguing America.
Among the rally’s most vocal advocates was Larry Cohen, past president of Communications Workers of America. Recognizing Goodlatte as the most powerful man in congress, Larry Cohen boldly outlined several of the congressman’s most damaging measures, “Congressman Goodlatte single-handedly blocked an immigration hearing, consequently 20 million don’t vote. Single-handedly he blocks the restoration of voting rites–millions don’t vote. That is not what a democracy looks like,” Cohen scolded before leading the crowd chanting “shame, shame, shame on you (Goodlatte)!”
“We are here to help each and every one of you, said Tanya Clay House, an attorney with Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, who passionately proclaimed, “As lawyers we’re in the courts to litigate, we’re in the legislature to advocate and we’re also out here to instigate.” Clay House was part of the team that worked for the last two years on developing what’s known as the Voting Rights Advancement Act the legislation designed to fix those portions of the Voting Rights Act deemed invalid.
The rally had no shortage of heavy hitters and some of the most compelling comments came from none other than National NAACP president Cornell Brooks who spoke of Elbert Williams, the first martyr of the NAACP and one of many slain over the years for the right to vote. With an intense fervor Brooks hammered, “We’re here in Roanoke because we yet feel the weight of history… the weight of memory… and we are here not to implore, not to plead, not to beg but to demand that Bob Goodlatte hold a hearing that must protect the right to vote!
Brooks used the extraordinary conviction of assassinated civil rights activist Medgar Evers saying, “If Medgar Evers can say on his dying bed while lying prostrate ‘sit me up and turn me loose,’ we in the midst of our living can stand up for the rights to vote!” His powerful sense of deep conviction and delivery perfectly resonated throughout the energized noonday crowd.
No gathering of this sort would be complete without Rev. William Barber, president of North Carolina NAACP who is considered the architect of Moral Monday and one of the most significant political leaders in the modern day struggle for civil rights.
Rev. Barber stirred the crowd with a fact-based message that first pointed to dates significant to the infamous Supreme Court ruling that “gutted the Voting Rights Act.” Barber said this action allowed southern states to write laws that deny and abridge African Americans and others the right to vote.
As proof Rev. Barber said, “In North Carolina we have the sad distinction of being the first state, less than 50 days after the Shelby decision, to pass the first and the worst voter suppression law since Jim Crow.
The law abolished many provisions used by minorities as: same day registration; early voting measures and instituted inequitable redistricting and discriminatory voter ID laws. Such actions by the state heightened the mission of Barber’s movement known as Moral Mondays. “The state rolled back all of the gains the NAACP and the Moral Movement had won and they were taken away without having to be pre-cleared,” said Barber. “Because they (these laws) have been used in elections, it means we have elected officials with unconstitutional and race driven laws,” said Barber who went on to mention certain Republican officials that have bragged on camera about supporting what he called this “monster voter suppression bill.”
On a high note of what was one of the most empowering addresses of the rally, Rev. Barber said, “To deny the fix of the Voting Rights Act is a sin against our constitution… our deepest moral and religious values and it’s a sin against our history of progress in the south.”
Local president Brenda Hale said Goodlatte was non-responsive to her and others regarding repeated attempts to address his position on the matter. As a retired military person she said, “I did not serve my country to be treated as a second class citizen… I am a voting constituent…voting constituents need to be heard.” She revealed that the congressman has “had a failing report card from the NAACP for over two decades,” and said NOW is the time to do the right thing!
Many who spoke throughout the program testified to the resourcefulness of president Hale–praising both her and her team for orchestrating one of the most powerful and dynamic assemblies in Roanoke history which sent a message loud and clear that hopefully will shift the powers and lead to a more balanced and equitable America for all.
