Press Releases

Activists, Civil Rights Leaders Arrested in Front of White House While Demanding Biden Publicly Endorse an End to the Jim Crow Filibuster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
OCTOBER 19, 2021

PRESS CONTACT:
Anushka Sarkar, press@standupamerica.com

Stand Up America’s Christina Harvey: “The President of the United States can use his soapbox to make one call and compel Congress in a way that no one else can.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, civil rights leaders and activists gathered in front of the White House to call on President Biden to publicly demand that the Senate end the Jim Crow filibuster and pass critical voting rights legislation, including the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Stand Up America’s Executive Director, Christina Harvey, commented on today’s rally outside the White House, where she was arrested along with other leaders who participated in civil disobedience to force President Biden to hear their calls for his leadership on voting rights:

“We came to Washington to tell President Biden one thing: Use your soapbox to end the Jim Crow filibuster and protect our freedom to vote.

“President Biden has remarked that we are facing ‘the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War.’ We agree—our very democracy is at stake. This year, 19 states have passed 33 laws to make it more difficult for eligible Americans to access the ballot box.

“Two months ago, Stand Up America joined with other advocates to collect over 400,000 signatures from Americans in every congressional district demanding President Biden call on the Senate to end the filibuster and pass legislation to stop this voter suppression. Stand Up America’s members have also made nearly 90,000 calls to Congress imploring them to pass legislation to protect our freedom to vote this year. But, the President of the United States can use his soapbox to make one call and compel Congress in a way that no one else can. President Biden must call on the Senate to end the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.”

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About Stand Up America
Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization with over two million community members across the country. Focused on grassroots advocacy to stand up to corruption and voter suppression and build a more representative democracy, Stand Up America has driven over 1.6 million calls to lawmakers, registered tens of thousands of voters, mobilized thousands of protestors, and contacted tens of millions of voters.

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