As we mentioned yesterday, next Monday, April 16 is the long-awaited Voting Rights March. Activists, residents and supporters will take an afternoon to demand that Congress finally do something to remedy the 200-year-old disenfranchisement of the District’s residents.
We’d like to see as many people out there as possible, but we recognize that it’s hard to take an entire afternoon off, regardless of how good the cause is. Fear not, though — you may only have to give up an hour or two to show your support for D.C. voting rights.
The whole shindig kicks off at 2:30 p.m. at Freedom Plaza, with the march itself starting at 3 p.m. and winding up at the Reflecting Pool in front of the U.S. Capitol at 4 p.m. Once the marchers gather, a rally will kick off featuring a number of speakers, including Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, Rep. Tom Davis (DR-Va.) and our own adopted representative, Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.). Ok, so he has’t confirmed yet, but he’s got an additional few thousands voters to appeal to, so we’d expect him to show. We’ve also been told that a 300-man choir will help provide entertainment and motivation.
You have a number of options — you can drop in at 2:30 and wish us all well, you can march for an hour and jet back to work, or you can leave work an hour early and rally in front of the Capitol. Whichever you choose, just try and take an hour off for voting rights. It’s a worthy cause and you’ll get a high-five from the DCist crew.
All the details of the march can be found here.
Martin Austermuhle