Today, the Supreme Court of the United States dealt a devastating blow to American democracy. In a 6–3 ruling, the Court’s conservative majority has rendered Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act—in the words of Elena Kagan—“all but a dead letter.”
We stand in full solidarity with Justice Kagan, whose powerful dissent reflects the very spirit of John Lewis.
Congressman Lewis would have recognized this moment. He was on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, when sacrifice gave birth to the Voting Rights Act. He was there again in 2013 when Shelby County v. Holder gutted Section 5—what he called “a dagger in the heart” of the law—and warned that states would move swiftly to disenfranchise Black voters. They did.
Today, the Court has returned to finish the job.
But Congressman Lewis would remind us: the vote is “almost sacred.” No court opinion can extinguish the fire of a people determined to be heard.
Do not get lost in a sea of despair.
Keep the faith.
Keep your eyes on the prize.
–The John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation
As a nation, if we care for the Beloved Community, we must move our feet, our hands, our hearts, our resources to build and not tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate.