"Voting Rights: The Struggle To Be Counted" - Virtual Film Screening

“A VOTELESS PEOPLE IS A VOICELESS PEOPLE. STAND UP AND LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD! VOTE, VOTE."

If we thought our democracy was threatened when we cast our vote in the 2020 presidential and 2022 midterm elections, the threat is much, much greater as we approach election day on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

We have a critical choice to make. We can vote to expand democracy to include all of our citizens as Rep. John Lewis and others fought and died for; or we can vote to turn the country to election result deniers, voter suppressors, and opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion.

A choice between HOPE and FEAR.

Photographer, film producer and social justice activist, Phil Portlock is presenting his informative and timely film, “VOTING RIGHTS: THE STRUGGLE TO BE COUNTED.” With creative use of music, powerful images and powerful narration by his wife Pat Sloan, the film traces the long and often brutal struggle by African Americans to gain and maintain the unrestricted right to have their votes counted at the ballot box.

This film is Phil’s response to the June 25, 2013 U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in the Shelby v Holder voting rights case. The five conservative justices declared Section 4b (the coverage clause), and Section 5 (the pre-clearance clause) of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act unconstitutional.

This decision has led to the enactment of hundreds of voter restriction and suppression laws that have impacted the rights of millions of citizens throughout the nation.