About 20,000 people gathered in Washington, according to organizers

Demonstrations to defend the right of minorities to vote in dozens of American cities

Policemen watching the demonstration that went out in Washington.

Reuters

Dozens of American cities, including Washington, Houston and Atlanta, witnessed demonstrations on Saturday to defend the right of minorities to vote, which is threatened, according to organizers, with laws passed this year in a number of states.

The date of these gatherings, in which thousands participated, was not set at random. On August 28, 1963, the leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, delivered, in front of about 250 thousand people, his famous speech “I have a dream”, which became a reference in the struggle for these rights. .

After the protesters promised to "carry the torch of justice raised by his father, and many others" 58 years ago, Martin Luther King III called on the crowds, Saturday, to "not give up" the struggle for equality at the polls.

"You have the dream and it's time to realize it," he told the demonstrators, who gathered in smaller numbers than in 1963.

About 20 thousand people gathered in Washington, according to the organizers, while the police did not give any number.

The demonstrators in Washington, who marched from the vicinity of the White House to the foot of the Capitol Hill in the heat and humidity, raised banners reading "Voting rights for all" and "Voting is sacred."

"I have the impression that we are going back in time," said student Rikia Harris, 25, who came from Colorado to participate in the demonstration with her father.

Her father, Ricky Harris, 65, emphasized that it was essential that "everyone contribute to trying to repeal these restrictive electoral laws."

In 1965, the US Congress adopted the "Voting Rights Act", which prohibits discriminatory electoral procedures, but some states, through highly technical measures, continued to limit the access of minorities - especially African Americans, most of whom vote for Democrats - to the polls.

This process has recently accelerated in the republican states, against the backdrop of unproven accusations of massive electoral fraud launched by Donald Trump, since the presidential elections in November 2020.

The think-tank, the Brennan Center for Justice, said that since last January, at least 18 states have passed 30 electoral laws that contain restrictions, while dozens of other texts in this area are being discussed.

These laws provide for procedures that vary from state to state, from the obligation to have an address to register on the electoral rolls, to the prohibition of voting at locations accessible without leaving the car.

The organizers of Saturday's demonstrations said they were "racist and anti-democratic laws", calling on Congress to act.

wrong direction

The US House of Representatives, which is dominated by Democrats, has adopted two electoral reform projects this year, aimed at reducing these restrictions in particular, but the two texts do not have any chances to override the Republicans' rejection in the Senate.

And thousands of people gathered, last year, in Washington to celebrate the same anniversary, and to demand the police to end violence against African Americans, in a demonstration that was overshadowed by the case of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

Floyd died of suffocation after a policeman knelt on his neck on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, on suspicion of using a counterfeit $ 20 bill to buy cigarettes, and former policeman Derek Chauvin, who caused his death, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison, last June.

"A year later, I'm disappointed," said Ricky Harris, because "it seems we're going in the wrong direction."

In 1965, the US Congress adopted the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited discriminatory electoral procedures, but some states continued, through very technical measures, to limit the access of minorities - especially African Americans, most of whom vote Democrats - to the polls. .

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