#TalkRadio – January 30: CALLING ALL FORCES: New Model Resolution in Defense of the Voting Rights Act

SPEAKERS:

Jaheim McRae: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Transformative Justice Coalition Fellow; Activist; Creator; Photographer; U.S Army National Guard // 12B – Combat Engineer; Second year Business Information Systems Student, switching major to Journalism and Mass Communication, at North Carolina A&T State University; gun violence Survivor; Has worked with Growing Change and the NAACP and participated in various marches; Featured on podcasts and articles, including Politico; 
Website: jaheimmcrae.com
Instagram: _ohdats.ja
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaheim-mcrae

Drake Smith: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM Eastern Time
Transformative Justice Coalition Fellow, Class of September 2022; Congressional Intern for Rep. Chrissy Houlahan; Junior, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania; Voting rights advocate on and off campus; At the end of his freshman year, Drake was elected in a landslide victory as the President of the Lincoln University Student Government Association, the first freshman ever to achieve such a feat. As SGA President, he also served as a Trustee on the university’s Board of Trustees; Was involved as a leader in TJC’s 2023 Juneteenth “Stay Woke, Stay Strong, and Vote! Florida” Rolling Protest; Former Student Member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education; Former NAACP Youth President; 
Instagram: d.smith9_ 
Twitter/ X: drake_smob

Dominique Calhoun, Esq.: 12:30 PM – 12:57 PM ET (Possible Guest)
President, National Bar Association

INTRODUCTION:

The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, January 30th, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled, “CALLING ALL FORCES: New Model Resolution in Defense of the Voting Rights Act”, will be live with Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq. and guests Jaheim McRae;; Drake Smith; and, possibly Dominique Calhoun, Esq. The Transformative Justice Coalition is calling on everyone to urge their local government to support the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by adopting TJC and Partners’ 8th Circuit Model Resolution. TJC wants every state, city, and county to join in the fight for voting rights and sign on to this Resolution. This Resolution represents the strength of our country to fight the 8th Circuit disastrous opinion regarding our voting rights.

Our show will feature a discussion about the many ways that committed persons can petition their state and local governments to debate and adopt this Resolution to show strong support for the right of private parties to be able to use the Voting Rights Act to redress unlawful racial discrimination in voting and voter dilution in redistricting. We want the courts to hear the voices of the entire nation calling for a reversal of the horrendous Opinion of the 8th Circuit.

BACKGROUND ON 8TH CIRCUIT OPINION

While organizations like the Heritage Foundation now celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Shelby County v. Holder in 2023, this 8th Circuit Court ruling represents another strike to the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act that is even more dangerous to the future of voting rights than Shelby v. Holder was. On the cover page of this Opinion, under Amici on behalf of Appellants (State of Arkansas), the State of Florida and the States of Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah are listed as supporting the position that there is no private right of action to sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965! This is a betrayal of the voting rights of people of color in Florida and the 13 other states. It is an abuse of power to use State authority and public funding to deny African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans their right to sue to enforce and secure their voting rights. Since the rendering of this nefarious decision last month, there are already efforts to expand the doctrine of this opinion to other federal circuits, including the 5th Circuit. This case has caused a national uproar with many demanding that the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act be passed ASAP to prevent further erosion of the Voting Rights Act. It is widely expected that this matter will end up in the Supreme Court of the United States where the outcome is uncertain.

QUESTIONS:

• We just closed the application process for the next Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Leadership Training. You have been through the Training yourselves and activities, including this past week in South Carolina.
• What motivates you to want to be a leader in this fight?
• What were your highlights of your experience in South Carolina?
• You attended the workshop that TJC presented on “Our March to the Ballot Box 2024”. Was this the first time, during the Workshop, that you heard about the 8th Circuit Opinion?
• What was your reaction when you first heard about the 8tch Circuit’s Opinion on the Voting Rights Act?
• How did you feel about TJC Fellow and Alum Ashley Shannon’s wonderful virtual presentation to everyone during the Workshop?
• As you heard from Ashley, most of the members of the 8th Circuit Organizing Convening Group’s Social Media Subcommittee are Gen Z. 
• Does this surprise you? 
• What does that mean to having Gen Z powering that subcommittee?
• As you have heard about the Model Resolution, what would you recommend others do to advocate for their state and local governments to adopt this Resolution?
• How do we make this Resolution Movement more widely known?
• What’s the role of Gen Z in pushing to preserve the power of the Voting Rights Act in this fight against voter suppression and voter dilution?
• As you will be in Phoenix, Arizona for the upcoming Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Leadership Training. What are you looking forward to accomplishing, learning, and experiencing  the most?
• What is the major work that you’re pursuing right now?
• What do you think is the most important grassroots organizing that you think needs to happen in order to ensure strong voter protection and engagement in November 2024?
• What are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?