"From afar, it might seem like a dry debate over an arcane law enacted by Congress half a century ago. But to those gathered at the court steps, most of whom were Black, there was a palpable consciousness that the legacy of civil rights giants such as Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King and John Lewis was on the line. Speakers noted that the Voting Rights Act had been a landmark law intended to prevent racial discrimination in voting. Undercutting it would reverse decades of progress."
"People held aloft signs that said Black voters matter, Build Black political power, Fight for fair maps, Fight like hell!, It's about us, My vote is my voice, Protect people, not power. One said, Protect our vote around a photo of Lewis, the Georgia congressman who died five years ago. Donald Trump cast a shadow. An African American man waved a black-and-white flag that declared: Fuck Trump and fuck you for voting for him."
Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court as justices weighed arguments in a case about Louisiana electoral districts and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Many attendees were Black and expressed that weakening Section 2 would jeopardize protections against racial discrimination in voting. Speakers invoked the legacies of Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King and John Lewis and warned of reversing decades of progress. Demonstrators displayed signs demanding protection of Black political power, fair maps and the sanctity of votes. Visible tensions included explicit anti-Trump sentiment and calls to defend voting rights against legal erosion.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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