The Power of the Vote – Part 1

It's the last two episodes of Everything's Political for the season, and in Episodes 7 & 8, we're challenging our listeners to weigh in on The Power of the Vote!

Through 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Black people and their supporters defied death, prison, beatings and bombings for the right to elect their choices for political office. But nowadays, is it still worth the effort to once again fight the racists in certain states who are once again seeking to disenfranchise black and brown people to maintain white supremacy?

This past March, host Junius Williams talked with co-host Francesca Larson about his sudden decision to attend the 57th anniversary of the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. This annual event in Selma, Alabama, commemorates "Bloody Sunday," which occurred on March 7, 1965 when a group of roughly 525 African-American demonstrators gathered at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. and proceeded to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, headed towards Montgomery for the right to vote.

Tune in as Junius shares clips of interviews with some of the "foot soldiers" who made that journey, plus Civil Rights and Black Power leaders who were on hand for the celebration and young people from all over the country who made the trip to Selma for the first time. Junius also recounts his own memories as a SNCC volunteer in Montgomery in 1965, once again bringing the lessons of Selma to light in order to answer the question about the relevance of The Vote.