Hundreds rally in Raleigh for voting rights
Published September 5, 2015
by Ken Smith, WRAL, September 4, 2015.
Hundreds of people marched through downtown Raleigh on Thursday evening and rallied near the State Capitol in support of voting rights.
The demonstration is part of the NAACP's Journey for Justice march, which began Aug. 1 in Selma, Ala., and is expected to conclude later this month with a rally in Washington, D.C. The 860-mile trek has focused on issues from improving schools to economic growth to criminal justice reform, but in North Carolina, it has centered on voting rights.
“I am here for justice, for the right to vote,” said demonstrator Mary Perry. “I fought in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I’m tired of fighting, but I’ll fight on.”
State lawmakers enacted sweeping election law changes two years ago, such as eliminating same-day registration, shortening early voting and, beginning next year, requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls. Portions of the law are being challenged in both state and federal courts.
The legislation came shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out part of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, saying it was based on old data.
"Legislatures, especially in the South, have engaged in all out assault against voting rights because Congress has not acted to fix the Voting Rights Act," Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, said in a statement. "As a result, North Carolina has seen the worst attack on voting rights since the days of the first Jim Crow in the 1800s."
Demonstrators marched from Shaw University along Davie and Fayetteville streets to Bicentennial Plaza, between the Capitol and the Legislative Building, chanting for justice and carrying signs in support of voting rights.
"We believe that the Voting Rights Act is vital American treasure which has to be preserved and protected," national NAACP President Cornell Brooks said as he marched. "The right to vote is a civic sacrament. The voting booth is our altar. We cannot allow the right to vote to be desecrated. We cannot allow the right to vote to be taken away."
Kara Carter, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Republican Party, said the NAACP's concerns are misplaced.
"The truth is their opposition to North Carolina's voting law isn't about race or justice. Even after the law was enacted, African-American voter turnout increased in 2014," Carter said in a statement.
September 5, 2015 at 11:11 am
Norm Kelly says:
More blah-blah-blah from the rev buffet slayer.
More 'untruths', 'misinformation', and 'obfuscation' from the left and blacks.
Those words are in quotes because they are how libs describe LIES to make it sound better to their voters. When a lib vote hears the word 'lie' they are programmed to think of Republican or conservative pols. When a lib 'lies' they tell their voters they were misunderstood, taken out of context by their opposition, or they are 'sorry for any confusion' that was created by their 'misspeak'.
The facts don't matter, simply because it's libs whining about an issue. It matters not at all that more blacks voted after the law was passed than before. It matters not at all that our laws are still more liberal than most states, including those states controlled by libs. It matters not a whit that blacks are being told they are incapable by their supposed leaders; what the leaders expect their minions to accept without question is that Republicans are racists. Instead of helping their blind followers comply with the law, and become honest voters, these 'leaders' are telling their minions that they are incapable of proving who they are, they can't get to the proper polling place (because they are black?), and they can't manage to get to a polling place in 8 days (because they are black?). So, you see, it's the black 'leaders' who are the actual racists. That and the demon/lib pols who believe blacks fail without the help/assistance/love of lib pols. Those who claim to be leaders, such as the rev, are the ones who are racist, believing their minions are less than white citizens. At what point will a majority of black voters finally get tired of being told how incapable they are and start to reject the socialist/liberal message of natural inequality, natural inferiority? It's not conservatives or Republicans who discriminate against blacks. It's not conservatives or Republicans who look first and foremost at skin color to make any & all determinations about a person and their ability/capability. It's always libs and black 'leaders' who look at skin color first and last. Everything about libs depends on looking at skin color to determine if discrimination exists. So, who discriminates based on skin color? Who's the real racists?
See, facts matter not at all in this case. Just like most cases brought forth by libs, they expect us to ignore facts as willingly as they choose to ignore facts. Facts put the lib/socialist whine to shame and death every time. Which is why libs choose to ignore facts & truth. They only succeed when we CHOOSE to ignore facts & truth also.
