In July 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting. They won’t let the majority senators vote. And certainly, they wouldn’t want the majority of people to vote, because they know they do not represent the majority of the American people. In fact, they represent, in their own states, a very small minority.”
Dr. King’s words were prophetic and are timely. Today, the US Senate has the opportunity to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. But opponents, of protecting the people’s right to participate in our democracy by voting, will stand in the way by invoking the filibuster. They are standing in the way, just like George Wallace stood in the doorway of the schoolhouse to prevent Black people from receiving an education. I call on the US Senate to eliminate the filibuster and pass the Act. We must protect the rights of voters and fight all attempts to suppress the voice of the people. In Congress, I will lead that fight.