Youth-Led Coalition Demands Passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act

Yesterday, March On and Future Coalition­ participated in a youth-led #NoMoreExcuses Civil Disobedience Action at the White House to demand passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which is likely to come to a vote today in the Senate, and the Freedom to Vote Act. March On is a political organization composed of women-led political activist groups that grew out of the women’s marches of January 21, 2017. They have come together as a united force to take concrete, coordinated actions at the federal, state and local levels to impact elections and move the country in a progressive direction.

Vanessa Wruble, Executive Director of March On, said,  “The civil rights leaders of the 1960s showed us that nothing happens unless we fight together for the government to protect our rights. We will not stop demonstrating, protesting and demanding that our government—especially those who ran on a platform of fighting for our rights—pass legislation that protects the right of every American to cast a ballot. No more excuses, no more filibuster, no more delay.”  Founded by youth activists for youth activists, Future Coalition is a network and community for youth-led organizations and Gen Z and young millennial leaders from across the country that came into being as a project of March On in the fall of 2018. Future Coalition works collaboratively to provide young people with the resources, tools, and support they need to create the change they want to see in their communities and in this country.

Yasmine Guedalia, Partnerships Coordinator at Future Coalition said, “Young people turned out in record numbers in November 2020 to vote for the candidates who pledged to fight for us. But now, voter suppression bills are preventing our generation—and especially the voices of Black and Brown Americans—from having a voice at the ballot box. Young people have the most at stake in every election and are a powerful voting bloc that refuses to settle. Today we call on our elected leaders to pass the most important legislation of our lifetimes by doing away with the filibuster and preserving the democracy they represent.”

Today’s action is the fourth direct action organized by the League of Women Voters, People For the American Way, Declaration for American Democracy, Black Voters Matter and Democracy Initiative since August, all part of a reinvigorated and growing grassroots coalition pressuring Congress to act. On August 28, March On and Future Coalition, with a coalition of more than 200 partners—including the Drum Major Institute, SEIU and National Action Network—organized a nationwide March On for Voting Rights, resulting in marches and actions in more than 100 towns and cities around the country to demand passage of federal voting rights legislation.