July 17, 2024 marks the 4th anniversary of the death of the Late Congressman John Lewis! On that day, we will come together in events across the country to commemorate his death and more importantly his life work to secure voting rights for all people. With the going attack on democracy, the events will highlight the urgency of this moment in our history.

We intend to educate, motivate and activate our community to work towards the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Native American Voting Rights Act, and the Washington D.C. Admissions Act.

Watch our June 24th National Teletown Hall on “Democracy At The Cliff: Runaway State Legislatures, Supreme Court Injustice & Reform, and the Perils of Project 2025”

On Monday, June 24th, the Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) hosted a Virtual Town Hall Event entitled “Democracy At The Cliff: Runaway State Legislatures, Supreme Court Injustice & Reform, and the Perils of Project 2025” which featured an all-star panel of voting rights and civil rights experts, including two TJC Fellows. 

This Town Hall was streamed LIVE on YouTube and Facebook. Watch on YouTube:

Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TJC.DC/videos/1250758865887549 

The Panel was moderated by Daryl D. Jones, Esq., Chair, Board of Directors for TJC. Opening Statements were made by Barbara R. Arnwine, Esq., President & Founder of TJC. Esteemed panelists included:

• DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX, World renowned Economist, Political Commentator, Author, Former President, Bennett College, Former Dean, College of Ethnic Studies, California State University, and Reparations Expert, 

• WENDY R. WEISER, Esq., Prominent voting rights expert, Author, Political Commentator and VP and Director of the Democracy Program at the  Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. Previously was a Senior Attorney at NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and a law clerk to Judge Eugene H. Nickerson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.  

• ALEX ARONSON, Esq., Author & Political Commentator; Executive Director of Court Accountability; Former, Chief Counsel for US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Former, Staff for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights Subcommittee; Attorney, US Department of Justice  and Associate, Covington & Burling, LLP.  

• JOHN CUSICK, Esq., Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Worked on the litigation team in the Alexander v. South Carolina Conference of the NAACP; Worked on Pres Robinson v. Phillip Callais, a Louisiana racial gerrymandering case

• MAUREEN EDOBOR, Esq., Author, various law reviews and legal periodicals regarding voting rights and the U.S. Constitution; Assistant Professor of Law,, Washington & Lee University; Delaney Center Fellow; Teaches and writes in constitutional law , focusing on voting and elections; Former, Policy Director and Counsel for the Congressional Black Caucus; Counsel for Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Penn State Law; Former Staff Attorney, League of Women Voters; TJC Fellow

• DEVAN M. VILFRARDl CEO & Co-Founder, Cash In Grad Out Foundation, Inc.; Graduate, Florida A&M University; Former, State President, NAACP State Conference of Branches Youth & College Division and TJC Fellow    

The purpose of the Town Hall was to examine the current threats to democracy and voting equality for voters of color. The panel fielded questions that showed the interrelationship of voter suppression by state legislatures and harmful decisions by the federal judiciary. A special focus was on today’s 11th Anniversary of the Shelby v. Holder decision which effectively gutted the preclearance provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The panel discussed the needed Supreme Court of the United States reform. And the panel looked at the horrors of the Project 2025 and Project 47 which proposes an anti-voting rights, anti-civil rights framework for a new, if elected, Trump Administration. 

The audience was treated to an active and highly informative discussion. Watch and Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TJC.DC/videos/1250758865887549 and Watch and Share YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/eM-LtnW9kfM?si=QjuZuxA2YWjutTAG.

Besides examining SCOTUS reform, the panel also discussed other remedial actions that can be undertaken to prevent voter suppression, including the upcoming July 17th John Lewis National Day of Action and Candlelight Vigils and the need for passage of the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Native American Voting Rights Act, and the Washington, D.C. Admissions Act.

TJC Statement on recent Supreme Court’s Decisions