To set up the second panel. If our second panel we have an esteemed group i went to acknowledge from maryland. Marilyns. Immediate past majority leader. And my friend hes been a great supporter of mine my whole career here. The folks of alabama want to thank you. [applause] so we are first joined by maya wiley president ceo of the Leadership Conference on civil and human rights please join me on stage. [applause] we have Cliff Albright cofounder of a black voters matter. With evan milliken and the plaintiff milliken versus allen case. Last certainly not least we have mark was the president ceo of the National Urban league. We have an amazing moderator she is none other than Simone Sanders townsend who hosts the simone show on msnbc. She is an author, a strategist, she is a bad sister thats all you need to know. We have an amazing panel amazing moderator and i cannot wait. Please give a warm round of applause. [applause] she has introduced our illustrious panel so we are going to go ahead and jump right into it. I dont think i need to tell you all but its very important we set the stage in 2013 the Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights act rates so much so and the advocate community you will often say the Voting Rights after 2013 was on life support. When this section to challenge first can before the Supreme Court and the advocates and activists would say it would be dead if section two is not upheld. Also back to 2013 since the decision of shelby states across the country have enacted restricting voting measures. This is not hyperbole. Im not making this up. No you are not. I want to make two important points. Remember from shelby and we already heard and got the master class with the Supreme Court has into the Voting Rights act but also what remains. But what we saw and remember everything we saw, everything we saw was an effort to make it harder for black people to vote. Its really important to call that out explicitly its in the research its in the data. In the examples we heard from alabama being ground zero. They could say the same thing from louisiana. We talk about georgia. Heck. [laughter] the reason it is so important is it was all built on the old big lie. We talk about the big lie. We dont talk about the fact that it was a weaponize in 2016. The weapon had already been created before 2016. All of these restrictive voting laws. Essentially the day after shelby texas dropped the voting restriction of law. We must amazement restrictive laws for black and latino to vote the day after they were ready to go with all the saw the proliferation of doing everything we can yet the voter id oh wait, wait do we say you could use a student id . No we didnt mean that. The closing of polling places predominately and black and latino communities without notice. Without clarity and all of that, all of that as horrible as it has been and it has been horrible but not with organizing activism from it and sure people know where and how to vote. Why even still use saw 26 states, 26 room Voting Rights laws not restrictive ones one to make it easier for folks to vote. The south states like new york, like connecticut like says we have it Voting Rights act even the federal government doesnt pass it. For winning or fighting with 26 states in that it made it easier. That matters that counts thats her people. Before i go to mr. Mayor once a mare always a mare im very interested since shelby what shift have you seen just within your own state from local statewide policymakers just like texas the next session of the state legislature the state of alabama passed an enormously more restrictive voting law. It went from being able to show at the polling station your power bill, your electricity bill now you have to show a photo id and the photo ids were limited. You could do a hunting license but then we had to go back and to ensure it you could do a student id. We should not have had to do that. The reality is i doubt heavens darkened by a stroke he was highly motivated to vote because i was on the bout he would vote with the ballot issue card in the state of alabama called a Social Security card for years you could vote in alabama. Everyone has one. Now all the sudden much more restrictive laws. My state followed suit. What is really interesting is the Supreme Court in the shelby decision said things had changed after all we had an africanamerican president in the white house. The reality is when you see the restrictive voting laws they are in the same 16 jurisdictions that were covered states that had to preclear. Now they dont have to preclear anymore. I think they were proving the point rattled the case and told congress you cannot penalize them what happened 50s and 60s but we are telling you was happening in 2023 mystery how is your organization how to get nimble about the relation of happening on the Voting Rights front and the economics to thank you congratulate you turn on msnbc, get right, keep it rolling. Thank you congresswoman who is continued brilliance and advocacy as well as the other co paddlers. When i joined the National Urban league the number one Public Policy issue and legislative issue we were working on was an extension of the 65 Voting Rights act. That work was extensive working with lawyers and members of congress to build an ironclad airtight record. I submitted testimony on the long history of voting discrimination and louisiana. As a carefully orchestrated effort and at the end of the day we got more than 90 boats in the ninth state senate. And over 300 votes rick x98 zero on the 2006 reauthorization. Like all of the senators voted for it. Context here is important to get. Then, while we were planning and administration there were those who were standing behind a curtain. They were the wizards of oppression and suppression. When good men and women plan evil men and woman plots. They began plotting a power grab that power grab had two elements to it. Number one the attack on Campaign Finance of the citizen united case. Because it was a reaction to the fact barack obama had flipped the script on how to raise money by maximizing online small donations. That was a flip to the method that was mostly successful for raising campaign money. So a lawsuit was initiated. That lawsuit was a lawsuit have the Supreme Court trending conservative to strike down based on the First Amendment limits on Campaign Finance. Number two, the Voting Rights act. Shall be one that was argued is Supreme Court led to john roberts they attacked the Voting Rights act before they were successful with john roberts for the most part you almost come back with another challenge will strike down section five. The effort to restrict and suppress the vote has a history of reaction to a historic election were africanamericans and others voting in large numbers and a new coalition came into formation. The response was lets use the court system seek to get the Supreme Court to in effect Citizens United overturned and many members a prior Supreme Court case. Shelby overturned Supreme Court cases. I put this in context because this is a long for power. After shelby and 2013 my analogy is the floodgates were opened and the alligators, the crocodiles, the serpents, they all came out in state legislature. Voter suppression, voter id you name it if they could think of it they would try to pass it. In the 80s and 90s matters in the bleat Louisiana Legislature all of those laws and proposals have been introduced in the Louisiana Legislature. I never got out of commit of the argument always was if you pass it to be by session five. Just to connect to Economic Policy democracy and participating in elections is about putting people at the table who can exercise decisionmaking one is over money. Appropriations, investments, programs, tax provisions, on so the connection between voting and Economic Policy is indispensable, it is intertwined. We sometimes for our own understanding separate out these issues education and healthcare. But in the many respects they are all in one. They are altogether. We have the National Urban league we have stood up for the production of democracy. If we aint at the table we are at the what . The menu. If we are not at the table we will have no voice whatsoever and all we will be doing will be intellectualizing amongst ourselves. So this is a fight for power. I think these brilliant lawyers who amidst a very difficult term on the Supreme Court gave us this one victory. That is one victory we hope will sustain give us an opportunity. The final thing i will say, the gop in alabama and these other states have resurrected the doctor of nullification. Out and out defiance of the Supreme Court and the constitution which makes decisions of the Supreme Court the supreme law of the land. They are defiant. We look at january 6 you look at this as a totality of the situation we have a battle in this country right now which is between democracy and autocracy. We better understand the 24 election is not a test of personality. It aint about age. Wake up. State awoke, it being awoken be aware of the work we have to do next year. [applause] i want to come to you. The Supreme Court case in the last session and first i just want to say thank you. Because the lawyers need the people on the ground who are doing the work to stand up and say im going to put my name on this. I want to bring suit we are going to sue and then theres the victor. The numbers in alabama i know we did the session before you all have been in the states alabamas black populace is 27 of the 14 of the representation. The black residents not just alabama we can say louisiana, windsor florida, leaving for georgia, we could say minnesota. Black people in nebraska come on i dont know where youre from. Black folks have for a very long time showed up to vote. Its safe to say if you would just listen to people on the streets if you listen and are part of the focus groups there is a disconnect sometimes. They dont feel as though theysin the vote translate into change. How do you think to shake change and shift the narrative of whats possible . Not just for alabama there at least 20 section im very states across the country. That will result in additional power. Additional members of congress that represent black opportunity districts put at the end of the day but we are talking about is an assault on black representation in america. He is about Leadership Development and growth. For example the plaintiffs associate with our case there are three others in the room Leticia Jackson if you wave your hand we have had alabama naacp as a Plaintiff Community we have been very close. One of things i have learned from them is even being open to change myself was working on staff assessments or talk about lgf or doing redistricting work in 202000 who also had agendas and theories. She was one of the first people in our team who really went to bat even when i was a little bit skeptical of a path that could lead us before the Supreme Court of rexall like trust black women . [laughter] in our Coalition Asian women were instrumental for some of our decisionmaking bit of course black women. So being open to growth and change. Another piece when we as organizers are policy folks counseling wont be able to be brought into our work and brought into our world we have to stop and pause on that a little bit today. Were at a point in American History we do not have time to try to reinvent so many wheels. Particularly what comes to crowd building and messaging. If you look at all of the actions that have been taken this year to encourage people to register to vote what is the single action that have the greatest impact as far as the largest people going to vote . It was taylor swift sending one instagram a National Voter registration on the 29th the engagement that they got on the number of Voter Registrations. None of us are here are taylor swift who knows or are you because i think he we are the masters of crowd building we have been cultural spaces who do that for a living. The they beat lower on their policy if the lien into that compare that corrupted this crowd. We are at this event we are not prioritizing it we need to go where they are. And to meet our case represents eyes thinkable brought into this conversation weve been working on for years i am 42 but 30 of those years have been in this type of work. There are folks that came around because of this narrative. We have gained some ground but there is much more for us to continue to do. We can clap forever. Along those lines i like to say what is you all painted the streets im sorry you are not the streets. You are all well informed political professionals will go out do that work the ambassadors. Sorry to break it to you. Black votes matter ive always felt very close with the streets are sent you recently partnered with the bet on a reclaim your vote campaign. Could you just tell me what the streets are saying . The importance of this case and whats happening in the country is it trickling down to the streets . Are the conversations being had . At the people being pushed towards engagement regardless of who they would like to vote for . I think it is important the engagement is there. Some of my immediate friends as the black community doesnt seem to be motivated the base of voters dont seem to be motivated there is an enthusiasm gap, tell me with the streets says. Part of the street says is unusual to help me out a little bit with this one but what i say black voters you say matter. Black voters matter big. Black voters matter. Hugs i do that and say that not just because its the name of our organization, right . Its because there is a principal in those three words. Either you believe we matter or you dont. If you believe the amount of the first thing you got to do because unfortunately theres a bunch of folks including Alabama Legislature right sister points out the republicans in the Alabama Legislature who believably dont matter. Theyre doing everything they can to make that be a fact. Before i talk about the streets just to add on to what were talking about earlier in terms of the voter depression a lot of policing since 2013 and also since 202020 is the usual stuff the closing of the polling places a voter id. In fact addons alabama stuart you all know i flipped past voter id the very next thing we did was what . Try to close on the places where you could get an id. Right . They were sure they were not even trying to hide it. We saw the regular stuff that weve seen the last three years as a couple of troubling trends we talk about them deputized and decertified. But not seen for 2020 remise actions by voters by voting organizations like making it illegal for you to dissent massive largescale Voter Registration drive. You go to jail for being a Voting Rights organization doing that work in some places like texas theyre trying to criminalize Election Officials that is something as simple so the criminalization aspect us on the got to Pay Attention too. The other is deputized we have seen the deputizing of individual actors as part of the efforts. You see some states make it okay for individuals go to the polling place in some cases the video people at the polling places while voting. We are also seeing like in georgia to make it easy for individuals to largescale voter challenges in the random individual can come out and say i wanted counties 20000 30,000 40000 voters who by the way it happened to all be black. Good deputizing process and decertified is what wed see woe many of these legislatures say we are going to take over county election boards. We know what you think what legitimate we are going to take it over were going to decertified the results. We have already seen this attempted in georgia and some other counties which again happened to be overwhelmingly black. I realized and certified. Weve got to answer to them which is to mobilize. We are going to mobilize. The street what people are saying they dont feel like it matters. People are trying to take our votes for granted their feeling like people dont want us to vote. When people say that we cant lie to them and act like that aint happening. Like what they see in front of their faces isnt really happening. We had several conversations with folks around what is happening. They know it. There aint nothing foul going on they know it. We have have honest conversations with our folks about what is been done but more importantly about the power that we have to do something about it. Everybody say power. Say it like you mean it. Say power. A lot of our committee thats a dirty word that we dont believe we have that power. When in fact the reality is at the very reason we are seeing this wave of Voter Suppression is because of the power we saw at the polls. People dont cheat when they are winning, right question rick window people cheat question rick when they are losing you know you are losing. They are doing these things because they know we have power. In the streets we have to have real conversations and center it on the power because we believe this is the last thing i wanted to say, we believe as humans dealing with the whole young folks and black Power Movement power and love are not opposites. They go together. We need them both. Power without love is reckless and abusive. Love without power is anemic. The streets dont need sentimental and anemic. The streets want power with god have that conversation. Is on the put the organ on. I grew up baptist. We were in church right now id said to be coming back. If you feel so moved please give. Were going to take a couple of questions from the audience. Their two microphone set up back there. We are taking questions not soliloquies. Say it questions not soliloquy. Or a sermon. At times will have to make this very click one or two. I am so encouraged i am a former state representative Science Teacher in a school board member. And a former plaintiff in a state lawsuit for redistricting and i am from detroit. We have one and a federal court that goes to court october 5 i came to see all of you my question is how do we engage and Work Together with organizations like yours . It because it cognizant dissidents. As by our liberal brothers and sisters in her own party. Weve gotten a majority with white leadership and i have no problem with white people. However i have a problem we are losing seats we dont have a black congresspeople in the Democratic Party in the states. We have lost all black seeds in the senate. We have lost seats in the house. Theyre quite because i didnt want to rock the boat at their liberal brothers and sisters. As coalition building. On congressman. Quickly. This is what i will say. Of teva mentality no permanent friends permanent interests. That sometimes means within a coalition we have to battle and fight for what indeed is rate. The other thing i think we have to invest more and we have to invest more in candidate developments. You cannot win an election if you dont have a candidate. You cannot win an election if you know of a serious candidate whos going to do what is necessary not to run for attention or run to break a sweat or run to make a point but run to win. This is so important i dont think people should hesitate to challenge Coalition Partners over equity and fair representation. The question is how do you do it . I dont think we have to be silent simply because quote unquote some of our allies. Look, this thing theres an element of racism. Ive got it figured out, you all just listen. I face this in the work i do. When i stood at eight, nine, 10 years ago we decided to have a position on issues of Technology Policy behind our backs people said what do you all know about Technology Policy . That this same degree from the same law school and i am the same person is in the same equipment that is paternalism. We have to be aware the two elements sometimes subjugation, suppression and ignoring us but we will lead, you follow. We will decide you become the amen corner. The coalition of eagles. Not a coalition of you are in the front of the bus and i am in the back of the bowsprit. He is answered and went to intothe question. Thank you mark. Hello recent graduate of Howard University school of law. I have a question for the record. The Shelby County case, the Supreme Court struck it down because they said we werent keeping with the recent patterns of discrimination is there a plan with some type of mechanism with recent patterns which alabama clearly has. And congresswoman is going to take this. If you could speak to the congresswoman specifically how they said the Voting Rights act. Reauthorization had addressed it congresswoman. We are working hard that moment the shelby decision came down stakeholder groups met with members of congress because the only way we can put section four. In is congress. It says Congress Shall determine which jurisdictions are the most egregious such that the remedy is preclearance. These 16 jurisdictions must preclearance rate that is what it said. They said in the shelby decision we were discriminating against states from back in the day. So i want you all to note we have been fighting. I have now filed five times in five successive congresses the Voting Rights advancement acts but we recently named it after the beloved john lewis. We should all have on the tip of our town we need the full protection of the Voting Rights act. The original Voting Rights act of not all had section two which actually are happy to have section two you cannot unring the bell. Once you have discrimination you could go to a court. What we have to put back in there is the clearance at the prophylactic measure for it on the front and theyre not going to bill enact the laws at all. Right . So we need both. The jon bryant advancement is the answer we should file i will continue to file it we should try to pass that. I also know it is so important we acknowledge our limitations so earlier this week tuesday i filed the john lewis Voting Rights act the 118th congress. It will probably note goat know where the house is controlled by republicans who refuse to come to the table. As mark so eloquently said Voting Rights used to be a bipartisan effort its a partisan effort the only way we can turn this around get 60 votes in the senate to overcome a filibuster, at one point we had 51 votes to pass the bill. We did not have 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. We have to vote people. Of votes. Votes, votes. [applause] very, very quickly that should be the last word. I think what simone is asking me underscore is the Supreme Court was lying. When it said there was not sufficient evidence in the record that our legislature and a bipartisan fashion that it is still the state. When you go back to what i shared at the beginning what cliff shared what evan is showing what mark is sharing of our congresswoman is leaning on every single place we are seeing black and brown and native American People being told they cant vote were going to make it hard. Were going to purge you from the rolls. In the same states that were covered before shelby said wait we dont see the evidence. It is the underlying points that just goes back to how grateful we are that we have a congressional black caucus. We had that leadership of a representative. We have the folks who lead and fight in communities we have black voters matter we have alabama forward. The National Urban league has always been here and professor taken every last one of us and it still will. It still will. Please give our illustrious panel a round of applause keep the extra applause going for congresswoman for convening such an important important conversation. Thank you all very, very much. A round of applause for our moderators. Make sure youre watching these simone show on msnbc. [laughter]