Thousands Gather at UN for Voting Rights

[The Ed Schultz show with Stand for Freedom March and Rally footage. 
Check it out:http://wegoted.com/theEdShow/entire-shows/?NID=609]

By Gabe Falsetta
People's World
December 12 2011

http://www.peoplesworld.org/thousands-gather-at-un-for-voting-rights/

NEW YORK

They came in the thousands to let the forces of
reaction know that their voting rights - rights that
were fought and died for - will not be taken away. The
March started from the Koch brothers' offices and
headed to the United Nations where the rally took
place.

There is a sinister movement in America by the right
and far right to disenfranchise millions of voters. The
far-right Koch brothers are channeling millions of
dollars to the Republicans to do the dirty work of
depriving the poor working class, especially people of
color, of their right to vote.

Louise Legun with the Veterans for Peace from Lehigh
Valley, Pennsylvania declared, "I'm here in solidarity
with the people who are being disenfranchised from
voting, especially people of color. We drove up from
Pennsylvania and it's great to be here. I'm from
Reading; Reading is the poorest city in the nation,
poorer than Flint, Michigan. And we are in solidarity
with the Occupy Wall Street movement and the 99
percent, so we are all in this together."

The NAACP called the action in order to inform the
public of the attempt to deny people their right to
vote. Local 1199 of SEIU (the Service workers), the
United Federation of Teachers, the Urban League, the
Professional Staff Congress, the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37, and
community groups such as, Make the Road joined the
American Civil Liberties Union, college students and
many others at both the march and rally.

"Voter ID laws are nothing but reincarnated poll taxes
and literacy tests, and ex-felon voting bans serve the
same purpose today as when they were created in the
wake of the 15th Amendment guaranteeing ex-slaves the
vote - suppressing voting numbers among people of
color," said NAACP President Benjamin Jealous in
remarks he made before the rally.

Georgia, Texas and Florida are three of the states
leading the charge in creating ways to block access to
the ballot box; some fourteen states in all have passed
legislation. These states are experiencing explosive
growth in minority voter turnout and population growth.

New York State Sen. Charles Schumer said, "We have an
obligation that started with the patriots who put down
their plows and took up their muskets so that they
could vote; remember what they said? No taxation
without representation. Let us vote!"

He continued, "And when America started, you had to be
a white, male Protestant property owner to vote. The
majority of people could not vote and through the blood
and sweat and tears of so many that vote was extended
finally to everybody."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, to cheers of "No Justice, No
Peace," said, "Two Jews and a Black named Goodman,
Chaney and Schwerner died to give us the right to vote;
Jimmy Lee Jackson  died to give us the right to vote,
did nobody donate us the right to vote, did nobody give
us the right to vote, we fought to get it and we are
going to fight to keep it."

Dec. 10 was designated International Human Rights Day
at the UN. The NAACP, on this date in 1948, also at the
UN, issued its famous Declaration of Human Rights.

Cameron Watkins who heads a college chapter of the
NAACP had this to say about voting rights: "There are
certain companies out there that are seeking to take
away our voting rights. We are college students and we
want to make sure we can vote in this upcoming
election. This is an atrocity and needs to be stopped.
That's why we are here today."

"Voter suppression is evil it is a right wing
conspiracy to take voting rights away from people of
color; folks who have paid their debt to society who
have gotten out of jail; folks who are recently
immigrated who are lining up who want to become voters
and on and on. Five million people stand to lose their
vote around the country; some restrictions have already
passed in several states. It's an atrocity," said Tom
Gogan, who is with U.S. Labor Against the War.
______________

Photo: Union workers and NAACP members at a rally and
march from the offices of Koch Industries to United
Nations headquarters, Dec. 10, in New York. (Mary
Altaffer/AP) http://tinyurl.com/6pwdujj

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