The Fight For Justice

• Since the 2020 election, at least 19 states have passed voter suppression laws, with over 400 similar bills introduced in 49 states. This crisis at the state level demands federal action, just as it did in 1965 when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.

• Legislation to protect the franchise, such as the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, is desperately needed. This bill would restore vital protections of the Voting Rights Act and set minimum standards for federal elections. It is imperative that the Senate immediately act to pass critical voting rights legislation—staying focused on this issue and pushing past any obstacle. There is no time to waste.

• A Black person is five times more likely to be stopped without just cause than a white person.

• A Black man is twice as likely to be stopped without just cause than a Black woman.

• 65% of Black adults have felt targeted because of their race. Similarly, approximately 35% of Latino and Asian adults have felt targeted because of race.

Throughout the world, the coronavirus pandemic has underscored how important it is for a healthy nation to offer its residents robust health care options. In the U.S., our collective unwillingness to ensure affordable, accessible, quality, and timely health care for all has cost too many Black lives and unnecessarily compromised our nation's health and economic security. The U.S. is overdue for a health care system that truly bolsters health for all its people rather than fragments them further.

• Black students represent 31% of school-related arrests. Black students are suspended and expelled 3 times more than white students. Students suspended or expelled for a discretionary violation are nearly 3 times more likely to be in contact with the juvenile justice system the following year.

• According to 2019 Southern Poverty Law Center research, Limestone County School District and Athens City Schools are active participants of school-to-prison pipeline practices.