Hilary Shelton, head of the NAACP Washington Bureau, said Monday civil rights groups are worried about efforts to roll back voting rights gains. (Photo: Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY)
WASHINGTON – Civil rights advocates are gearing up for fierce battles with the Republican-controlled Congress and the Trump administration over voting rights, immigration, social justice and other issues.
“We’re equipping ourselves for a huge, huge political battle over the next two years unless Donald Trump moderates his approach to government,’’ said Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “We’re bracing for a fight, without question, because we have no other evidence to believe that he will change his positions and his rhetoric. He seems to be doubling down on those.’’
Voting rights and civil rights leaders have called emergency meetings, hosted __news conferences and started developing strategies to preserve what they call hard-fought gains. They say they're particularly alarmed by President-elect Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric during the campaign and his remarks about minorities and women.
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They're also concerned about the track record of Trump's potential cabinet picks and his appointment of Stephen Bannon as his chief strategist. Bannon had headed Breitbart News, which critics say has racist and anti-Semitic content. Civil rights groups also slammed Trump's choice Friday of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official.
“We are getting ready for the fight of our lives to defend not just the Latino community, but frankly the values that, at least we claim as a country, we stand for,’’ said Clarissa Martínez-de-Castro, deputy vice president at the nonpartisan National Council of LaRaza. “I think there’s turbulent times ahead.’’
One pressing concern, say activists, is the fight to protect voting rights, an issue on the front-burner since the U.S. Supreme Court three years ago struck down a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
In the wake of reports of problems at the polls Election Day, voting rights activists say Congress should take up legislation that would restore the provision and make voting easier. Despite its dim prospects, Democrats plan to push for action on the bill during the lame-duck session.
Republican leaders say they support voting rights, but certain Voting Rights Act provisions are outdated and shouldn’t be revived. They argue the law has safeguards against voting discrimination.
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Civil rights leaders and Democrats concede the legislation isn't likely to come to the floor for a vote or even a hearing.
“It’s going to be extremely tough,’’ said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau. “But we have to try anyway … The push is going to be on.’’
Shelton and others hope recent problems at the polls spur Congress to act. A coalition of civil rights groups fielded thousands of calls from voters with questions and complaints.
“To have the House turn its back on this kind of information and fail to act is absolutely unconscionable,’’ said Wade Henderson, president of The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 groups.
Henderson said activists are willing to work with Trump on issues, such as college affordability, criminal justice reform and infrastructure needs, “but we will not accept efforts to roll back civil rights — not on our watch.’’
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House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., has not said whether he will allow a vote on voting rights legislation. His office did not reply to a request for comment.
“I do not believe that the next Congress will be any better on that subject than this Congress has been,’’ said South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the assistant Democratic leader. “I’m not too sure that there’s going to be a legislative fix.''
Clyburn said he's praying the next Supreme Court justice has a "different attitude about voting rights. I won’t hold my breath.’’
Melanie Campbell, executive director of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said a coalition of mostly women’s groups plans to work on a strategy to protect voting rights and address other concerns, including Bannon's appointment.
“We now face a period of uncertainty,’’ Campbell said. “We will continuously, vigorously fight for issues of civil rights and social justice as part of our mission.''
Follow Deborah Barfield Berry on Twitter: @dberrygannett
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