FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2014
For more information: Jennifer Farmer, Advancement Project, 202.487.0967
Atty. Jamie Phillips Cole, Public Policy Coordinator, 919.682.4700
The North Carolina NAACP to Join NC Legislative Black Caucus in Washington, DC for a News Conference and a Day of Legislative Advocacy
News Conference:
When: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 9:00 am
Where: Rayburn House Office Building, 2456, Washington, DC
Who: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, NC NAACP President &
NC Legislative Black Caucus Members
Washington, DC - The North Carolina NAACP's President, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II., State Conference Vice Presidents and Coalition Partners will join the NC Legislative Black Caucus for a day of legislative advocacy and news conference beginning at 9:00 am in the Rayburn House Office Building. The group will voice concerns about the ability of some provisions in the Voting Rights Act Amendment Bill to protect all voters from discrimination at the polls, specifically in NC.
The NC NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement - in conjunction with the National NAACP - call upon the North Carolina congressional delegation to act swiftly and decisive to strengthen and amend S. 1945/H.R. 3899, the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014, to better protect voting rights in our state.
While the NC NAACP is glad to see the bipartisan effort from lawmakers who have introduced a bill to restore Section IV of the Act, their measure leaves out a devastating number of Southern states from the automatic preclearance requirement - including Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and perhaps South Carolina. The proposed bill only partially counts discriminatory photo ID requirements as markers of whether or not a state is to be added to preclearance coverage for pushing discriminatory voting practices.
During last week's news conference, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP and architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement, shared the NC NAACP's perspective on the proposed legislative fix currently introduced in Congress at a press conference organized by the NC Legislative Black Caucus in Raleigh.
"If Section IV was in place as it was before Shelby, the current voter suppression bill would have to be cleared by the Department of Justice before it could be implemented," Dr. Barber said. "Democrats and Republicans should all be concerned about legislation that removes North Carolina from precleareance because it means whoever is in power can pass voting changes and tactics that would not have to be precleared, thereby shifting the burden onto litigants to prove discrimination."
Dr. Barber, who serves as the Political Action and Legislative Chair for the National NAACP, affirmed the resolution adopted by the National NAACP Board on the proposed bill to repair the Voting Rights Act. The resolution welcomes the bipartisan work that launched S. 1945/H.R. 3899, but it stresses that more voter protections will need to be added to the bill before the organization and its members can feel confident that every American's voting rights will be secure.
The full resolution from the National NAACP can be found HERE.
