Serve, Work and Transform: Will the filibuster ruin MLK's dream?

Friday, January 14, 2022

Will the filibuster ruin MLK's dream?

Will We Let the Filibuster Ruin MLK's Dream?

Adam Russell Taylor

Each Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I am reminded how prophetic his message was — how astutely he diagnosed the United States’ problems, and sadly, the degree to which we are still wrestling with these same problems today. But MLK Day is not just a day to remember Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy; it’s a day to act upon his bold vision to save the soul of America. This commitment to action is even more imperative this year in the face of the mounting assault on voting rights and crisis facing our democracy.

[…] Most critically, we can honor King’s vision by working to restore the voting rights that he knew were so central to dismantling racism in this country. As King proclaimed, “Voting is the foundation stone for political action.” Two bills that would restore these protections, which have now been combined into another bill and will be voted on in the House today — the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — have stalled in the Senate because of the filibuster, a procedural rule that minority parties have used to delay voting on any bill that fails to gain two-thirds of senators’ support. We must call on our senators to find the moral courage to choose democracy over this procedural rule. If the Senate can find the will to change its rules to raise the debt ceiling with simple majority vote, it can and must do the same to protect our very democracy. King himself spoke out against the filibuster and the way it was so often used to block civil rights legislation.

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