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“ Democratic priorities are clear: we will fight to get the economy back on track, we will create jobs, and we will help unemployed workers. ” |
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Pelosi Statement on the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on tomorrow’s 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Pelosi will be addressing the 40th anniversary rally and march in Atlanta on Saturday.
“On the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act we celebrate America’s finest hour in our struggle for civil rights, when we acted together to end injustice and bigotry. When, 40 years ago, we acted as a nation to secure the fundamental right to vote without which, according to the Supreme Court, ‘other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.’
“Within months of its passage, a quarter of a million new African American voters had been registered; a quarter of a million voices that had been silenced could finally be heard. Along with millions of minorities to follow, these new voters changed the world with a vision of justice, equality, and opportunity for all.
“In the halls of Congress, the number of minority Members grew from 12 in 1965 to 81 today. Those Members of Congress have shown what we all know: America is at its best when our remarkable diversity is reflected in those who represent us.
“Those Members also know that our nation’s history is one of expanding rights – it is our journey and our obligation as Americans. The essential requirements of bilingual ballots and voting assistance were added in 1975.
“Our work is not done. The struggle continues.
“Let us recommit to the spirit of the 1965 Act by ensuring that every American voter can vote, by ending the continuing attempts to suppress and intimidate minority voters, and by guaranteeing the integrity of the vote count.
“In honor of those who marched 40 years ago, and for our country, we must stand together to make sure the justice we have won is just the beginning and that we live up to the dreams worthy of all who have died for the cause of civil rights.
“We must reauthorize the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act. We must work to end false distinctions among all men and women. And we must strive, in the words of John Lewis, towards our ‘Beloved Community.’ ‘We must move our resources…to build and not to tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate.’
“Let us live up to the ideals of equality and opportunity that are both our hope and our future. Let us preserve our voting rights.”
“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
