Silver Spring, MD – Amalgamated Transit Union International President John Costa released the following statement to mark Dr. Martin Luther King Day.
“In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., launched a campaign of civil disobedience in Selma, Alabama, to bring attention to the disenfranchisement of black voters in the South. After mostly black protesters tried to peacefully walk across the Pettus Bridge outside of Selma and were violently beaten by police, Dr. King defied a court order and led another march of 2,000 nonviolent protestors across the bridge.
“These and other actions that left activists beaten and killed led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – hallmark legislation to help end racial discrimination in our voting system and provide equal access for all Americans to vote.
“Fifty-seven years later, there is now an unprecedented assault on voting rights that we haven’t seen since the Jim Crow era. Tragically, in state legislatures all throughout the nation, voting rights are under assault. States are getting rid of drop boxes and severely restricting mail-in voting. Absentee ballots are becoming increasingly hard to request. Some states are actually considering bills that would allow them to overturn free and fair elections. This is beyond suppression; it’s nullification -- the equivalent of torching the U.S. Constitution.
“Dr. King famously said, ‘Voting is the foundation stone for political action’ because he recognized the significance of participating in our democracy. This year, we join the family of Dr. King in calling for ‘no celebration’ until the Senate passes voting rights legislation, including the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. We also call on the Senate to reform the filibuster, a remnant of segregation, that is currently blocking the will of the American people.
“The right of every citizen to vote is one of the most powerful tools we have to fight injustice. It was won through the blood, sweat, tears, and lives of giants like Dr. King, and we can never take that for granted. In the name of John Lewis, Dr. King, and all those that came before and after them, we must fight to restore voting rights in America.”