FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2014
U. S. Senate Testimony of Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the NC NAACP Showing the Necessity for Federal Preclearance Protections in North Carolina
A copy of Dr. Barber's testimony can be found HERE.
DURHAM, NC - To explain how North Carolina has seen its expansive voter protections rolled back since the Shelby Co. v. Holder decision gutted the Voting Rights Act's Section V preclearance requirement, NC NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II was invited to present written testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary as it consider its Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014.
"Since the Supreme Court's ruling in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, inclusive democracy is under attack in ways that dangerously and disproportionately imperil voters of color," Dr. Barber wrote. "North Carolina is a stark example of the continued need for the Voting Rights Act. The full protections of the Voting Rights Act remain necessary to ensure that the promises of the Reconstruction Amendments are kept."
This national debate over a proposed Voting Rights Amendment Act is taking place just as the NC NAACP, that Dr. Barber leads, finished a week of presenting testimony in the U.S. Court, challenging was most observers have called the worst voter suppression law to be passed in the South since Jim Crow. The NC NAACP and its legal team await the decision of whether to grant a preliminary injunction of the voter suppression law by the federal judge who conducted the four-day hearing. He said the decision would come "sooner than later."
The legal team, led by the Advancement Project, presented documentary and testimonial evidence that emphasized the law, passed by Speaker Thom Tillis, Senate leader Phil Berger, and Gov. Pat McCrory in a last-minute rush 11 months ago, violated the 14th, 15th and 26th Amendments and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because it disproportionately impacted people of color, the elderly, young people, women and other minority groups.
A full copy of Dr. Barber's testimony can be accessed HERE. The Forward Together Moral Movement will be circulating copies to all of North Carolina's representatives in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. The NC Conference of NAACP Branches is 70 years old this year and is made up of over 100 Adult, Youth and College NAACP units across the state, convenes more than 160 members of the Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) People's Assembly Coalition, and is the architect of the Moral Monday & Forward Together Movement.
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