Champaign County residents take action to support voting rights
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCCU/WICS) — Several organizations came together on Saturday, May 8th to show support and speak out on voting rights.
The purpose of votercades and Action Day, named after late civil rights leader John Lewis, is to promote voting rights reforms nationwide and defeat what they say are voter suppression efforts sweeping the country.
This brings awareness to S1 and HR4, two bills that aim to expand the people’s voting and civil rights by eliminating this new crop of what some say are voter suppression laws, outlawing gerrymandering, and restoring the Justice Department pre-clearance requirement for new voting laws in states with a history of voter suppression.
The Votercade in Champaign County started at 1 p.m. at the Country Fair Shopping Center and ended at Lincoln Square Mall for food, music, and a celebration.
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Students from Urbana ended the votercade holding a banner walking into the celebration area.
"We are fighting for our rights that everybody, black and brown people will have a right to vote. We came out in numbers this past election. We helped to put a lot of people in order," NAACP President of Champaign County, Minnie Pearson said.
Several groups came together including, Bend the Arc Jewish Action: Champaign-Urbana, Champaign- Urbana Moms Demand Action, the City of Urbana, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Champaign-Urbana Alumnae Chapter, FirstFollowers Champaign-Urbana, League of Women Voters of Champaign County, NAACP Champaign County Branch and When We All Vote - Champaign County.
