A Rally for Voting Rights in the Heart of Civil Rights History
Thousands of people gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday to stand up for voting rights and commemorate the legacy of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The event took place in a city that has long been a symbol of both the struggles and triumphs of the fight for equality.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey described Montgomery as “sacred soil” in the ongoing battle for civil rights. He urged the audience to take action, stating, “If we in our generation do not now do our duty, we will lose the gains and the rights and the liberties that our ancestors afforded us.”
The crowd was filled with passion and determination, chanting slogans such as “we won’t go back” and “we fight.” Shalela Dowdy, a plaintiff in the Alabama redistricting case, echoed this sentiment, saying, “We are not going down without a fight. We are not going down to Jim Crow maps.”
A Symbolic Location
The rally took place in front of the Alabama Capitol, a site with deep historical significance. It was here that the Confederacy was formed in 1861, and it was also where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “How Long, Not Long” speech in 1965 at the end of the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March.
The stage was set against a backdrop of statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and civil rights icon Rosa Parks. This juxtaposition highlighted the city’s complex history and its transformation into a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
Echoes of the Past
Many attendees felt that the current efforts to redraw voting districts echoed the past. Camellia A Hooks, a 70-year-old from Montgomery, said, “We lived through the '60s. It takes you back. When you think that Alabama’s moving forward, it takes two steps back.”
The rally began in Selma, where the violent clash between law enforcement and voting rights activists in 1965 became a turning point in the movement. The event then moved to the state Capitol, where the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement continues to inspire.
The Impact of Recent Legal Decisions
Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have significantly weakened voting rights protections. A ruling involving Louisiana further eroded these laws, which had already been weakened by a 2013 decision. These changes have allowed for stricter voter ID laws, registration restrictions, and limits on early voting and polling place changes.
Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement are alarmed by the speed of these rollbacks. Kirk Carrington, who was a teen during the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” incident, expressed his disappointment. “It’s really just appalling to me and all the young people that marched during the ’60s, fought hard to get voting rights, equal rights and civil rights,” he said. “It’s sad that it’s continuing after 60-plus-odd years that we are still fighting for the same thing we fought for back then.”
Redistricting and Representation
Montgomery is home to one of the congressional districts that is being altered following the Supreme Court ruling. In 2023, a federal court redrew Alabama's 2nd Congressional District after finding that the state intentionally diluted the voting power of Black residents. The court ruled that there should be a district where Black people are a majority or near-majority and have an opportunity to elect their candidate of choice.
However, the Supreme Court cleared the way for a different map that could allow the GOP to reclaim the seat. While the matter remains under litigation, the state plans special primaries on August 11 under the new map.
Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who won election in the district in 2024, emphasized that the dispute is about representation. “When Republicans are literally turning back the clock on what representation, what the faces of representation, look like, what the opportunities, legitimate opportunities for representation look like across this country, then I think it starts to resonate with people in a little bit of a different way,” he said.
A Call to Action
Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, a Republican, said the Louisiana ruling provided an opportunity to revisit a map that was forced on the state by the federal court. “People tend to forget what happened. When this thing went to court, the Republican Party had that seat, congressional seat two,” he said.
Evan Milligan, the lead plaintiff in the Alabama redistricting case, stressed the importance of recommitting to the fight. “We have to accept that this is the new reality, whether we like it or not. We don’t have to accept that this will be the reality for the next 10 years or two years or forever,” he said.
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