Black History Month: Democracy Shouldn't Be This Hard, Lawyer Says
Note: This is the 20th and final installment of WCBS 880's Black History Month series. For other articles, click here.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - We began our Black History Month series looking at the marches in Selma, Ala. And while voting rights were won, the fight never ends.
With previous challenges to Voting Rights Act and voter ID laws, the president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Barbara Arnwine, often says "democracy shouldn't be this hard."
"Unfortunately, our racial dynamic in the United States is one where no victory for justice is permanent. You have to make sure that every day you secure that right over and over and you protect it," she told WCBS 880's Jane Tillman Irving.
The committee heads the Election Protection Coalition of more than 100 other organizations, from the American Bar Association to the Hip Hop Caucus. Arnwine said it is dedicated to eleminating voting restrictions.
"And making sure that equality is not just a promise, that's it a reality to our country," she said.