The Alabama non-profit Alabama Arise has condemned the attempted insurrection at the U.S capital Wednesday, demanding more protections for voters and the expansion of voting rights.
“The assault on the U.S. Capitol this week was a violent and racist attack on the very idea of democracy,” said Robyn Hyden, executive director of Alabama Arise, in a statement Friday. “It was an effort by white nationalists and other extremists to reject the results of a free and fair election and to tear the fabric of our shared freedoms. Alabama Arise condemns this disgraceful, reprehensible insurrection in the strongest possible terms.”
Hyden continued her statement by emphasizing the necessity of a peaceful transfer of power:
“Everyone’s freedoms are jeopardized when lawmakers attempt to disregard the results of free and fair elections or when mobs attempt to overrule those elections by force. Arise denounces incitements to violence and insurrection by elected leaders and political extremists. We also denounce the white supremacist ideologies that fuel attempts to reject legitimate votes from people of color.”
“Our ability to progress as a state and a nation will be limited as long as any person or group is unable to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” Hyden said.
The statement praised organizers and elected officials for having “worked for years to expand access to free and fair elections,” concluding with a call for Congress to shore up the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“Ensuring that every eligible voter can access the ballot must be a top priority to protect our democratic republic,” Hyden said. “We call upon Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and provide protections from further attempts to suppress votes. And we urge Alabama lawmakers to protect and expand voting rights by instituting automatic voter registration and lifting barriers to voting rights restoration.”
