Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson reacted with disappointment to the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act.
“I grieved [today] because I marched for the rights back in 1965,” Jackson told theGrio in a phone interview. “I fought the burden [for] voter access for a very long time.”
The ruling calls for Congress to reconfigure the formula used by Section 4 to determine which states and municipalities are required to get federal pre-clearance before changing their voting laws.
Jackson expressed concern that Tuesday’s decision will remove civil voting protections and shift the burden of ensuring equal voting access back to the states.
Jackson remembers fighting for voting rights
“Republican [members of] Congress will rejoice over the fact that this will allow them free reign in the South, to strengthen their hold in the states,” Jackson said.
Jackson was tapped by Dr. Martin Luther King to lead the Operation Breadbasket arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1966. Currently head of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he said he remembers the battles the country has faced to guarantee every American the right to vote.
“In 1865 we gained our freedom, and they took it all back with the Supreme Court decision in 1896,” Jackon said of the Plessy vs. Fergusen decision, which established a legal basis for segregation. “We won the rights again in 1965, and they took it all back in 2013.”
Calls for immediate action from the president
Jackson urged President Obama to respond quickly.
“I urge President Obama to convene the Congress,” Jackson said. “He must do today what Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1965,” he said of Johnson’s defense of the Voting Rights Act. “He must not only show his disagreement, but he must show some leadership to challenge [the decision].”
Jackson believes some members of Congress may not be as eager to take action to mitigate the impact of the court’s decision. He said if Congress fails to take a proactive role, voting could become more difficult.
It could prove expensive for individuals to fight to protect their rights in the courts. Jackson warned of “gerrymandering” and “annexation,” and said that “many blacks and browns will be thrown out” of office.
More minority competition, fewer political roles?
“In the South, women who are now in office will now be fighting to save their districts,” Jackson concluded. “It will either inspire or turn people off [of voting],” he also predicted about the decision’s impact.
The political organizer also surmised that there will be more competition between minority candidates for fewer stable jurisdictions from which they can be elected.
“Two good people fighting over one district instead of putting them in different districts,” Jackson warned. “You will see a lot more of that.”