We said we'd be back.
On October 19, People For the American Way, the League of Women Voters of the United States, and the Declaration for American Democracy, alongside clergy, young elected officials, and coalition partners, escalated demands for the White House to act on voting rights without delay in an action that resulted in the arrests of 25 participants.
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We’re baaaaaack. #NoMoreExcuses #VotingRightsNow@peoplefor @LWV @DFADCoalition @OurRevolution pic.twitter.com/Vih2Uz7Kkn
— Markus Batchelor (@MarkusforDC) October 19, 2021
Danton Whitley and members of the Baltimore Urban Inspiration Choir performed as part of our demonstration, both on the way to the White House and as onlookers watched 25 brave activists – including People For President Ben Jealous, Executive Vice President Marge Baker, and board members Rabbi David Saperstein and Alyssa Milano – face arrest.
On October 19th, we took the fight for voting rights back to the White House. Join by @Alyssa_Milano, @lwv, @dfadcoalition, @blackvotersmtr, @unite4democracy, religious leaders, and activists, we made our message loud and clear.
No more excuses, @POTUS. We need #VotingRightsNow pic.twitter.com/Z2bW4FmYJW
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) October 20, 2021
"We the people are for the people, and for the people, act.
We the people are for the people, now will you have our backs?"We're making joyous noise outside your door, @POTUS. Will you have our backs and act on voting rights?
No more excuses. #VotingRightsNow pic.twitter.com/LgPVuVEfn3
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) October 19, 2021
"What we know is that when a minority is able to hold up a majority of the Senate, the only way you get through is when the President says get the rules out of the way and get it done – and that's exactly what we need from President Biden," said People For President Ben Jealous.
People For board member Alyssa Milano explained what's at stake: More than 425 anti-voter bills have been introduced nationwide this year alone.
Rabbi David Saperstein spoke about how he's known President Joe Biden for 40 years, and that's how he knows that the President should understand precisely why voting rights deserves the full attention of the White House.
Now: Protesters, including @BenJealous, @Alyssa_Milano, faith leaders, and civil rights leaders, are being arrested outside the White House for calling on President Biden to lead on voting rights.
No more excuses. #VotingRightsNow. pic.twitter.com/KLJfJjxvDV
— People For the American Way (@peoplefor) October 19, 2021
You can watch the full event here:
The very next day, Senate Republicans again blocked debate on the Freedom to Vote Act. This is why we need President Biden to act without delay to get the Senate to fix or nix the filibuster and protect our vote.
On October 22, Rachel Maddow did a short news piece on this direct action at the White House, aimed at pressuring lawmakers into doing more to defend the freedom to vote.
Before the arrests on October 19, faith leaders, local and state representatives, and national civil rights leaders explained why they were there that day, and why taking direct action right now is so important in the face of Republican obstruction.
"We are doing what we are doing to send a message: At the fundamental core of anything that we do, of everything that is legislated, is our right to vote," said People For board member Rev. Timothy McDonald.
People For board member Alyssa Milano explained that with 425 bills having been proposed in state legislatures this year alone to suppress the vote, she knew she had to get involved.
Radio host Joe Madison remembers when LBJ told Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to make him pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He did. And now, it's on us to protect our vote.
President Biden needs to put everything he has into passing the Freedom to Vote Act and protecting the right to vote or our democracy is lost, warns The Workers Circle's Ann Toback.
Shortly before walking to the White House, Jana Morgan, Director of Declaration for American Democracy, spoke about how the freedom to vote is the bedrock of our democracy.
GA State Rep. Bee Nguyen, a member of our Young Elected Officials Network, spoke about how hard Georgia worked to get President Joe Biden elected - and now it's time for him to protect Georgia's voters from the outrageous voter suppression measures passed there this year.
Noelle Damico, Director of Social Justice at The Workers Circle, explained that she again risked arrest for voting rights because she's fighting for every voter who's ever been disenfranchised.
Reverend Mark Thompson spoke about how he was there to risk arrest to raise awareness of the harm the filibuster is causing to our democracy.
Keith Silver, co-founder of Washington DC MLK Peacewalk, spoke about the breadth of this collective effort to preserve voting rights.
Immediately after her arrest, Virginia Kase Solomón, CEO of League of Women Voters of the U.S., spoke about how she believes that our democracy is in danger if we don't pass voting rights without delay.