Statement from Janssen Evelyn on The Supreme Court’s Decision in Louisiana v Callais

“​In a tragic yet unsurprising move, the Supreme Court has gutted another piece of critical legislation and opened the door to a new and worsened era of voter suppression in the United States. Yesterday, the Supreme Court continued to show its conservative bias and severely weakened the Voting Rights Act (VRA), furthering the discriminatory obstacles minority communities face in exercising their right to vote.

This monumental legislation, signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, following the heroic activism of leaders like the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & the late John Lewis, established clear protections against voter discrimination on the basis of race. The VRA fought back against voter laws intentionally designed to suppress the voices and power of minority communities. For over 60 years, this law has defended these communities and supported the election of thousands of black and brown representatives across the country, allowing more and more Americans to steer the systems that govern their lives.

It is disheartening to see the Supreme Court continuously roll back established protections to the fundamental rights that make us all Americans: the right to vote, to free speech, to assembly, and so much more. The recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais effectively dismantles the core of Section 2 by making it nearly impossible to challenge discriminatory maps without proving intentional bias. We must not falter in the face of these attacks.

It’s up to us to organize, at the local, state, and national level, to fight back against rising fascism at the hands of Donald Trump and his Supreme Court. We must work together to push back against these failures of our government and stand up for what we know is true. Voting is the core of our democratic processes and we must do everything in our power to protect and uphold it.

We demand that Congress pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act immediately to restore the architecture of our democracy. But let us be clear: we cannot wait for Washington to save us. We must take up the mantle of grassroots advocacy in our own neighborhoods, protect the vote for every single neighbor, and show up at the polls with a resolve that cannot be broken. This is the moment to prove that while they may hold the gavel, we hold the future. Our collective power will not be silenced.

Power to the people!”