Alabama NAACP kicks off three-day summit with march and rally on voting rights

SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - The Alabama NAACP’s three-day Democracy Restoration Summit kicked off in Shelby County on Friday.

The summit falls on the tenth anniversary of the Shelby vs. Holder ruling that gutted key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Folks from all over the country showed up to reflect on the Shelby vs. Holder decision and celebrate the recent Allen vs. Milligan decision.

This decision means the state must now draw a new congressional map that allows more ethnic voters the opportunity to vote.

Through a rally and march on Friday, the focus was all about voting rights.

Deuel Ross, the lead attorney in the Allen vs. Milligan case, called on voters to encourage legislators to draw a fair map and push for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

Rev. Kenneth Dukes, First Vice President of the Shelby County branch of the NAACP, wants to bring awareness to the Shelby vs. Holder decision in hopes that will encourage folks to go out to the polls and cast their votes.

“The only way we are going to have change, is that we are going to have to come out and vote,” Dukes said. “You have to start to be empowering yourself with knowledge, if you don’t know the candidates, get to know the candidates, don’t wait for the commercial, research the candidates - these people that are asking for your vote.”

The biggest takeaway the NAACP wants people to get: your vote matters.

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