National NAACP president leads local charge to amend Voting Rights Act
by Mary Campagna and S. Hale
A resounding rendition of “Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” was led by protestor Bernadette Brown who quickly aroused the assembled crowd that followed her altered lyrics “Aint gonna let Bob Goodlatte turn us around.” It was a classic opener as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), headed by local president, Brenda Hale, held a press conference Monday, Aug. 8 outside the Roanoke office of Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).
The event also included a non-violent sit-in as a select group of supporters later took the movement directly to the congressman’s office.
Addressing the crowd prior to the sit-in were keynote speakers Cornell Brooks, national NAACP president and Stephen Green, national director, NAACP Youth and College Division. Green oversees 70,000 youth activists across the country. Locally, NAACP Youth Council members represented nearly half of the protestors at the rally.
“Young people should not have to worry about using their college ID to vote…wondering where their precincts are…or struggling with same day registration and voting laws being rolled back,” said Green during his dynamic delivery. “We’ve come to bring the Civil Rights movement to the nation to show that we may have a different face but we are fighting the same struggles.”
Through her forceful address, Hale lauded the Civil Rights leaders of the past who fought to ensure the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.
“Fifty-one years since 1965, we never imagined or thought that our voting rights would be under attack!” Hale said. “From shock and disbelief I entered into a state of grieving.”
Hale and others referred to a 2013 Supreme Court decision (Shelby V. Holder). The ruling held that the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the VRA used to determine state and political subdivisions subject to Section 5, pertaining to government pre-clearance, was unconstitutional. Thus, the court invalidated the very formula that determined which places were subject to the pre-clearance obligation; the government’s attempt to oversee fair voting rights for all citizens.
“Our youth are at the head table of this democracy,” Brooks said. “They are leading this movement against a Machiavellian attempt to disenfranchise citizens. The Voting Rights Act has been desecrated in the temple of our democracy.”
Brooks noted that Congressman Goodlatte had supported the re-authorization of the full VRA for 10 years.
“But here we are with a broken VRA and we are asking him to fix what was broken,” Brooks said.
“We think that having fair elections where people are encouraged to vote is very important,” said Freeda Cathcart, president of the local General Federation of Women’s Clubs. “We want to request a hearing regarding this matter; Mr. Goodlatte is not allowing {the VRA} to be discussed.
“We are wondering why our congressman is holding back so much,” said Bishop Edward Mitchell of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). “We must keep pressing him; he is keeping this issue from coming up for a vote.”
At the sit-in following the program Hale, Brooks and others were met by Goodlatte’s chief of staff Pete Larkin, who after a thorough briefing of the issues, graciously informed the crowd that he would relay any message to his “boss.”
“We’ll sit here then,” Brooks calmly stated as he and the delegation of young protesters proceeded to take position on the floor of the congressman’s office while chanting “Restore the act, Goodlatte!”
A statement reportedly prepared by Goodlatte’s staff responding to the protest read:
“The voting rights act is alive and well, although the Supreme Court struck down some provisions of the law, strong remedies against unconstitutional voting discrimination remain in place.”
As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Goodlatte has held firm on his position and therefore received much heat over the years from those who support amending the voting rights laws.
Later in the day the 6-hour protest culminated as Brooks and Green were charged with trespassing and led away by local police only to be released shortly thereafter.
“We’re here demonstrating in a non-violent, time-honored fashion,” said Brooks. “ It is worth our being here. It is worth our being arrested because the right to vote is just that important.”
