How was the meeting, sir. Sirs, you're looking great. You doing a great job. Thank you sir. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Thank you for coming. I'm Mark boreal I'm president of the National Urban League and one of eight national civil rights leaders who just spent better part of an hour and a half with both President Biden.
Vice President, Harris. Cedric Richmond, Susan Rice and other members of the President's leadership team. Let me characterize the discussions in the meeting in this fashion. We came here at the invitation of the President to underscore the state of emergency, that this country faces when it comes to democracy. Democracy is under a vigorous vicious and sinister attack. Beginning with the events of June, January 16 at the Capitol and cascading like a tsunami, through state legislatures across the nation that have a singular intent, which is to suppress deny and wart, the votes of black people, brown people, young people, people who are disabled, and many other Americans. Man, with great disadvantage in his country. Now we witnessed an election last fall. Where 159 million Americans voted. And let me correct the historical record. It was the highest voter turnout in American history. You can count the 1900 election, because women didn't vote, you can't count the 1900 election because black people were laboring under the burdens of the grandfather clause and a literacy test. We took time. And the President I think share a great concern about the emergency nature of the situation we face in this country. Now for everyone's benefit. As a group we have worked diligently over the last several months. On behalf of both the legislation known as the for the people act, and the legislation which will become the John Lewis voting rights. Advancement Act in furtherance of that. We have met with numerous members of Congress, including Senator Manchin, including with a number of Republican members of the United States Senate. We have, and we will not leave any stone unturned to save American democracy. We will speak with anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances. And we will take any actions, nonviolent peaceful and intelligent. To protect American democracy. We're going to share with you, not only characterizations of our discussion but also steps that several of us plan to take over the next several weeks in the self next several months, to ensure that the American people are educated, and understand that this attack on democracy, this challenge to democracy is not partisan. This is an attack on the very fundamental values that undergird this country. And we plan to elevate our voices, elevate our activism, elevate
the very essence of the mission of our organizations, to protect and save American democracy, let me finally share this view.
And I don't say this lightly. When we look at what is happening in this nation.
We see an effort to impose a system of American apartheid, you suppress the vote, you elevate the filibuster. You use the electoral college. You use the nullification of the Supreme Court, which just recently undercut the Voting Rights Act, to try to thwart the power of this grand and glorious multicultural nation. So we are here at a time of great, great seriousness. And we had a powerful discussion with the President, but we want it to be clear, coming out of this meeting, and we'll share with you the steps we intend to take in the furtherance of the protection of democracy. This is a serious moment. This is a moment of great gravity. A great moment of great threat to the essence of American democracy, and the right of people to vote, Reverend Al Sharpton.
Thank you Bob. We had a very janky, no holds barred me with President Biden and vice president Harris for about an hour and 40 minutes skip for an hour. The Supreme Court decision last week was a blow. Indescribable impact. Cindy ability of having the right to vote, particularly for black people and people of color, and it was our task to tell the President and Vice President, that not only do we need the White House to do all it can, that we are going to build a movement around this country to resist that. What is clearly a move to try and disenfranchise people of color from voting, the methodical way this has been laid out in the state legislators, and in their state legislation is geared toward robbing us up to vote, and that the President and Vice President need to know that there needs to be their understanding that a movement from the ground up, is starting to be the only way that we can reserve our right to vote, HR, one on Senate Bill one, and the John Lewis bill is mandatory, but at the same time, if we don't put the street heat on it will not happen. So we informed them and they listened very patiently. They ask questions, but we informed them that this is going to come not from the White House down but from our houses up, because this is our ability to preserve the right to vote. We also talked and mentioned about the need for the George Floyd justice in policing and I told the President that there is growing numbers of people in all communities that are concerned about what is going on with police. This past week, I did the eulogy at a funeral in bendy Arkansas for a young 17 year old, killed by policemen by law enforcement, with only a can of antifreeze in his hand, his name was Britain 17 years old, and he was a young white man, a young white teenager. I did a eulogy. What about 500 people there 95% White. That said yes Rabanal Yes, Ben Crump was there. We do need this just said policing act. We need at the same time to work in partnership with the White House on gun violence, because in our communities. We are having to deal with the threat from the cops, and the robbers, we are dealing with multiple instability, but all of it cannot happen without protecting the right to vote. None of this whether we're dealing with policing, whether we're dealing with how we regulate guns, All of it comes from our ability to protect the franchise of putting the right people in office, and the right legislators and the right legislators. And unless we can do that. And unless we protect that we want it to President understand that as Martin Luther King and Andrew Young left, this very white house in 64 and went south, to begin the movement that led to the 65 Voting Rights Act, we leave here today saying we will create a movement on the ground, to protect that right to vote, just as Dr. King has left here in 1964 bond with the kingdom third and I call for national march on August 28. Last year August 28 which is the anniversary of Dr. King's march over 200,000 people came out in a pandemic around policing. This year we're calling on them to come out around voting rights, and they're going to watch in other cities. There will be activities starting this week that will go all the way to August 28 There will be a movement on John Lewis, that my colleagues will
talk about this will be a summer of activism, a summer of getting back in the streets, a summer of saying to the Senate and the Congress, you may be going home, But it's going to be warmer politically than you think. On the ground, and we want that to be made clear that we'll call the date August 28. Hello,
thank you I'm Cherylin Eiffel I'm president and director Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which is the nation's oldest civil rights legal organization founded in 1940 by Thurgood Marshall. This meeting was called by the President, it was an opportunity to talk about this emergency that my colleagues have described, I use the opportunity to talk about the history, civil rights legislation in this country, of the Supreme Court's role in often eroding civil rights statutes, dating back to the 19th century dating back to the 1875 Civil Rights Act and the civil rights cases dating back to Plessy versus Ferguson, dating back to mobiel versus Bolden, the voting rights case in 1980 that Congress had to overturn in 1982 with the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. And then of course, Shelby County versus holder and last week's decision in the Burnham edge case, we are at, again, such a moment. We are litigating at the Legal Defense Fund in Georgia, challenging their voter suppression law, we're challenging Florida's voter suppression law but I told the President, we will not be able to litigate our way out of this threat to black citizenship voting and political participation, we need legislation to be passed in Congress, both HR one and HR four I articulated our commitment to both of those pieces of legislation, we need tools in our hand, the Supreme Court took away the tool of Section Five preclearance in 2013 last week they eroded the strength of the tool of section to litigation, and states like Georgia and Florida. And even today, Texas, are eroding the tools that we have in our hands at the state level, bypassing this voter suppression laws. What we said what we emphasize to the President, is that our backs are against the wall. This is the moment, there is no more time, We must have legislation, we must have the president use his voice, use his influence use his power and use what he clearly understands about this moment, and that was one of the encouraging things about this conversation was that the President understands us to be in a moment of peril in terms of our democracy. And that means that we have to put all the options on the table, figure out what can work, keep talking. Keep pressing and move forward. And I thought the conversation was positive in that sense we will we're going to continue talking over the summer, as we've heard from my colleagues through a number of elements of activism that are going to be happening around the country, we are going to be in the courts, continuing to litigate these cases we're going to litigate them smart, we understand the challenges that we're facing, but we are not going to turn away from challenging these state laws, we're not going to turn away from fighting tooth and nail for the right of every black person in this country to participate equally in the political process to have their vote cast to have their vote count to have their vote added to the tally. Those are the words in the voting rights that we understand and the approach, July 17 The blood sweat and tears that went into the passage of the Voting Rights Act because we're coming up on the one year anniversary of John Lewis's death, we're coming up on the one year anniversary of the death of CT video. These are people who sacrifice for that piece of legislation to ensure black citizenship. And so it was important for us to convey the sense of personal result that each of us have to demanding that real change happen at this moment and to distressing to the President that we see this moment as one that cannot be turned away from and we're all options have to be on the table. And so I'm thrilled to introduce Wade Henderson, who's the interim president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Political Rights.
Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. I think it is noteworthy that President right in this meeting because he recognizes that this moment, facing the country is an existential threat to American democracy as we know, this is not a partisan issue. This is not about the divisions between Democrats and Republicans. This is about a fog of war and facing the nation as a whole and democracy, as we understand it. And the fact that the President can mean this meeting because he recognized that this moment in time requires a discussion like that that we had today, I think is especially, as has been discussed we talked about provisions of both the for the people act, and the John Lewis, voting rights advancement, because we believe, and I think the President shares this view that both bills are necessary in order to address the problems that we see, while certainly the Voting Rights Act deals with issues of preclearance and allows states that are covered by the, the act, to have their procedures screened by the Department of Justice in advance of them making changes that would threaten the right to vote on behalf of black and brown indigenous and new Americans. It is also important that the Supreme Court's decision of last week, Rama vich versus the DNC be addressed as well in any perspective legislation going forward. But the standards that would be set for voting by the for the people lack also critically important because without those provisions, it is impossible to address what is happening at the state level. We've already seen that in Georgia and Florida. We are seeing it revived yet again in Texas, we've seen the audit, in Arizona, we know that what is taking place at the state level is likely to occur repeatedly in states around the country. So we think it is important that those issues be addressed as well. And one final point that we think it is of course important that all efforts be developed to ensure that individuals who are qualified to vote, be given access to the battle that we want people registered we want people to know where they have precinct, so that they show up appropriately that they have the ID necessary to vote in whatever state they live in, but we also noted that it is not likely that we can organize our way out of the problem facing the country today that we need legislation. The two bills that we discussed in some form. And that time is of the essence, this needs to be done. This summer, while the Senate and the House are still in session, and that we are encouraging of the Senate to stay in session, until such efforts are complete, because that is the serious nature that we face and then finally, we talked about various activities that we and others will promote over the course of the summer, as Reverend Sharpton said this is a summer of defending democracy in action. We intend to make that a theme that we pursue, and the event of the 28th of August, is one example of that. But we're also convening an event mobilization, good trouble, John Lewis mobilizations on the 17th of July, which is the first anniversary of Mr Lewis's passing, we intend to make mobilizations around the country, a theme that we pursue. So this is not simply about sitting on chairs, waiting for the President to rescue the country. In this time of peril. We intend to be active participants in pressing Congress to act. And in providing the kind of vocalization at the street level, that will be essential to make it happen. And now it's my pleasure to introduce Melanie Campbell, I believe, and Dr. Cole genetic code, the National Council of macro women, and the National Coalition of blacks in the nation.
Thank you, thank you way. One of the things that was really really important and Reverend Sharpton, really
laid out, and that is that we have to hit the streets. We didn't wait to this meeting. Many of us already in the streets, but we need to move mobilize our community. So as black women, we have an action next week, called and myself and several other black women leaders are coming together for a week of action, because we say enough is enough. We talk about what's going to happen with the black vote. We know that we talk about the black vote, we talk about black women. And so when you talk about the fact that if these laws that are being rolled around, still my terms tsunamis. Right, voter suppression laws across this country. Right, it's about the freedom to vote. Right, it's about the fact that when my state leaders tell above me Georgia activists all her life was just on a local board of elections in the state of Georgia, when that law was passed in Georgia. They took her ability to serve on that local board of elections, so that the county commissioner can take the ability to appoint who they want. So when we get organized and mobilize and do all what we do, and others. And then you can have go in the back room and take that vote away and decide who you decide, is going to be the next local Commissioner, or, or governor or president of United States. And so we think that's very important in that meeting. My colleagues have already stated, with the President and the Vice President, working on, they understand the sense of urgency. we are in a state of emergency, we know it on our watch history is a great teacher. And so we know what it looks like to say that I believe that just being suppressed, but this country's democracy is at a critical point are we going to be a democracy, or I talked about I talked with autocracy. That's what this thing, and people are showing us, and so we're not gonna sit idly by. Our generation is a multi generational multi ethnic, everyone has to be able to step up and at this point and so we're going to mobilize this call to action. It starts on the 12th, we're going to be non is not violent, but it is correct. We are going to have direct action on Capitol Hill, when they come back next week, the senators who would not allow for a vote to take place, to even discuss the election, should not be able to just walk around like everything's okay, it's not, I heard someone say, a report earlier today it's saying, Well, it's been put on the shelf. No it's not. It hasn't even been discussed, and we're going to push the little senators, by our presence and we'll talk about what we plan to do but on the 15th especially
when black women say, Enough is Enough, enough, it is. So, in collaboration with my sister leader. Melanie cannon, and a host of black women's organizations. Rubber Allah. We are having a call to action. We do like 12 Call to Action social media takeover. Maybe Oh, but I don't know how, but this this review, we will use. On July 13 freedom to vote and virtual doubt when black women who have national organizations in our country will speak up and speak up, to live for tea will call them up on national common day to college. And then I look on the final day of July 15 Day of Action on the hill. Ella Baker said. So clearly, we who believe in freedom will not rest until it's done.
Thank you for those system leaders, David Hewitt I'm President and Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Our organization was founded right here at the White House. And then some of 1963. When President Kennedy called to the mat into a higher calling the leadership of the Americans aren't integrated group at the time, which we're now calling a bunch of regional and multicultural groups and coalition network that over the last 15 years, has contributed over a million hours of pro bono support a lot of it has gone towards for device litigation of the type that you know about, and also the nationwide election protection coalition, where we fight tooth and nail to make sure that everybody knows the rules that board is going to actually be able to vote, and speaking as someone who has a lawyer has literally made a difference to help people would be otherwise turned away. Okay, so every book maps. You heard it from my colleagues about the mobilizations and direct action. And we stand in solidarity with the lowest community we're calling this a democracy some, we think about as someone where the President needs to call for new legislation, where hundreds of 1000s of people are mobilized in the streets where elected officials obstructing justice. That's today but that was also 1963 What do you want to understood the schoolhouse door, we'll make it was was assassinated. When President Kennedy issued his first televised public address, about the need for civil rights legislation. Everything old is new again. We cannot forget our parents now there's, There's been progress, but we didn't say, if you think all progress is linear, which is to have the wake up. If you think it's all political and it's not discrimination. It's time to wake up. If you think it's just a little bit of discrimination, it doesn't matter. It's time to wake up and if you think the damage is done. And that it won't get worse and then nothing can be done about it is time to wake up. And what these leaders are calling for what we're calling for is for ordinary people and for people, especially beings to rise up in solidarity. It's not just certain people, is everybody in this country, through the lens of the black experience, the people whose vote was voice was vitality, continues to be targeted in this country, day in, day out, the mean for the legislation is clear for the people at the John Lewis voting rights restoration and that brings us back preclearance in Section Five and section four, the border by saying, but also to Georgia for justice and political, because we're sick and tired of people dying, and the accountability being nil, and it being lip service. So this is a democracy or something similar, we are going to fight tooth and nail to make the elusive promise of democracy reels for black Americans and for all Americans.
Question. You are talking about this is a moment of action with this action, have you gone to Mitch McConnell, have you talked to Mitch McConnell, you said you've talked to Republican senators. Have you talked to Mitch McConnell and also show an eyeball you said, he became the president of the civil rights history. Tim Scott says America's not racist have never killed him, as well as Mitch McConnell, with that history that you're talking
to Mitch McConnell. We'll see sit down with the eight of us will sit down with Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell will sit down with the eight of us for an open discussion. I've met with Mitch McConnell before. Mitch McConnell has shared with me on numerous occasions, the pride he felt in you know this standing as an intern in the Capitol. When the Civil Rights Act was being signed and passed. We're prepared to meet with anyone at any time to discuss this so we're prepared to meet with Mitch McConnell,
whenever they say this we have already talked to several Republicans. And as Mark said we'll meet with anybody, but that will not stop the action, right, there will be no delay on the action we attend to talk and walk at the same time. Please, please Sherlyn I feel, could you please finish showing it.
I've had a number of conversations with Senator Tim Scott about the George le justice and policing act about the need for the act, the urgency of the issue of accountability. I spoke to him about it last summer after George Floyd was killed and I spoke to him. Just a few weeks ago, I believe that Senator Scott, at least at this point, Still doesn't fully understand what the Civil Rights position is at this moment, about how serious we are about accountability and why, and what the people who were out in this country. Last year by the millions and around the world want what those people want is a real transformative change. They don't want to hear about training and they don't want to hear about tinkering around the edges. They want to know that the people who are policing their communities, understand that they have to do their jobs within the confines of the Constitution or be held accountable, and I will continue having those conversations
so long as he is willing to talk. What about Michigan. What about Mitch McConnell to the millions of Americans who vote who are in our churches, as a reverend I have an analogy for you know the Bible talks about
old wine in new wine skins. And when you're talking about marching again, maybe African Americans have criticized, marching as a mechanism for change. So do you think that that's like old wine in new wines, because I
get it if you saw the millions of people that launched last year, many of them young. That they don't buy that. That is old. I think that the whole thing of just thinking that you can do it by having high brow meetings in the beltway on ivory towers. They tried that for a season it didn't work, that's why you saw people hit the streets last year, like you never had before. And because of that, we saw a trial in Minneapolis, and a conviction in Minneapolis, and you see a George Floyd bill that has already passed the House, and we see a voting bill, so it did work last year I think that what got old, was those that were talking against notches What did this coordinate system,
what did the president vice president say they were willing to do, because we heard, You know what you guys are going to do the kinds of things that we're working on,
what are the pros we're gonna allow the President the Vice President to give their own readout of the meeting when we seek to do that, it can be confusing you all on the White House press corps. I think that they will provide their own readout of the meeting you guys seem downbeat after that meeting, nobody seems happy.
I just really, really want to be clear, and this is part of what I think it's critical for you to understand when we talk about the emergency that we're in, we're talking about the very future of the full citizenship and dignity of black people in this country. It is the most sober conversation that we could possibly have as civil rights leaders, we are not going to come out happy go lucky out of any meeting where that is on the line. So, come out of this meeting, ratified, first of all that the President invited us to talk about this issue. We're gratified that he recognizes the nature of the emergency, but we have no illusions about what we are up against. And if we had any decision in the supreme from the Supreme Court last week, put paid to that, this is a very serious and silver moment and if that's what you're seeing on our faces, that's what you're
what you're going in, we accommodate, in a sense of urgency, getting ready to do some of action, you do not come out of informing the President of the United States, leader of the free world that we're going to hit the streets on things we agree on and it come out into high fives in front of the White House. Evening,
Reverend Joey Garrison USA Today, did you guys bring up the filibuster in our position.
We didn't ask him to his. Okay, so you didn't press him on disposition we wanted him to know our position, yeah this was more of him listening to us. And, and out telling you that we were not going to lay back anymore. While they dealt with bipartisan talks, we're going to hit the streets and we want to do it. What did he say about the city understood our position, he did not make a commitment, or where they would be on, he listened, and the vice president. We did ask the Vice President, if she was going to roll she says she will do that. But I have to take Reverend Sharpton I'm so sorry, I have to take. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Awesome. What I have to do. I'm sorry everybody I have to take, I have to take I have to I have to.
