Despite Senate Rejection of Freedom to Vote Act Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda Will Travel to DC to Fight for Voting Rights

News provided by

Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda

Oct 22, 2021, 08:10 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Voting rights advocates from the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda (People's Agenda) were not surprised or discouraged by the U.S. Senate's vote to block the Freedom to Vote Act yesterday, and, according to the groups executive director, Helen Butler, they vow to increase efforts to amplify the voices of the people who want every eligible voter to be able to cast a ballot that counts. Coalition members have been protesting at the White House all week, and a busload will leave Atlanta this Friday to join other activists in DC for a rally featuring Martin Luther King, III.

"The right to vote is at the core of American democracy and any efforts to deny certain people that right is anti-democratic," says Butler. "The rejection of legislation to protect voting rights for all people underscores the seriousness of the recent attacks on democracy and the dire need for us to continue to sound the alarm. Votes against the Freedom to Vote Act were votes in support of the recent voter suppression laws passed in Georgia and throughout the country."

Butler continues, "Our founder, the late Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery risked his life in the fight for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Protecting the right to vote is a cornerstone of the work we do. The People's Agenda will join with groups across the country to extend our Summer of Activism into the winter and beyond and do whatever it takes to stop this attack on democracy. This past Tuesday our policy and engagement director, Cindy Battles, was among those arrested protesting outside the White House and this weekend we will join other activists who are driving, walking, jogging, and bicycling to the MLK Memorial."

The People's Agenda, along with Public Citizen, the League of Conservation Voters, Black Voters Matter, DC Vote, League of Women Voters, Drum Majors for Change, and Declaration for American Democracy, will convene the Freedom to Vote Relay & Rally, a three-day, 70-mile relay that kicked off Oct. 20 in Charleston, W.Va., then continue on to Harpers Ferry. The convoy will travel to Point of Rocks, Maryland, make its way to Glen Echo Park in Maryland and culminate in a rally on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Taft Carillon near the U.S. Capitol.

The People's Agenda's bus to Washington, DC will depart from the IBEW building, 501 Pulliam St. SW Atlanta, GA on Friday, October 22, 2021 at 10 AM. Sign up at: https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/418778/.

"The public is invited to join us on the bus Friday. We're asking those who can not travel to call their Senator and tell them to pass the Freedom to Vote Act," adds Butler. "We refuse to give up or give in. A fitting quote from Dr. Lowery has become our motto: 'We ain't going back. We've come too far, marched too long, prayed too hard, wept too bitterly, bled too profusely and died too young, to let anybody turn back the clock on our journey to justice."

Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization performing year-round voter registration, education and mobilization in Black communities throughout Georgia. Led by board chair, Rev. J. A. Milner, and Butler, the organization has headquarters in Atlanta and offices in Athens, Albany, Macon, Augusta, LaGrange and Savannah. For more information visit www.thepeoplesagenda.org, email [email protected] or call the People's Agenda at (404) 653-1199.