Press Releases

Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) released the following statement while on a bipartisan pilgrimage led by Congressman John Lewis commemorating the series of marches in Selma, Alabama that garnered support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965:

“History came alive this weekend in a powerful, annual tribute to the brave men and women who marched from Selma to Montgomery for racial justice. It was an honor to walk alongside Civil Rights Movement heroes like my colleague, Mr. John Lewis, who was among the voting rights protesters beaten and tear-gassed by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. Despite horrifying acts of violence and intimidation on ‘Bloody Sunday,’ they refused to stop speaking out against injustice, which led to passage of the Voting Rights Act.

“History is still being written, however, and the fight for equality isn't over.

“There is still more to do protect the voting rights of minorities after the Supreme Court struck down a key section of the Voting Rights Act. Since this decision, several states have enacted laws, including discriminatory voter-ID laws, resulting in African-American turnout decreasing by 8.6 percent, Latino turnout by 9 percent, and Asian-American turnout by 12.5 percent. Next week, the House will vote on H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which expands voting rights. We must not forget or dismiss the ugly, legally-sanctioned discrimination in our country’s not-so-distant past, or its link to current discriminatory laws suppressing the constitutional right of every American to vote.”

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