Whip Clark in Alabama: 'We Are Going to Keep Fighting'

Montgomery, AL - Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-7) and Members of the House Democratic Caucus for a press conference ahead of "All Roads Lead to the South" - a national day of action for voting rights. Below is a transcript of her remarks:

"House Democrats are here to stand with you, Terri, and with Congressman Figures. We are here to stand with the people of Alabama whose fundamental rights are under attack. We are here to stand with voters across this country. Because we are witnessing an assault on American democracy, at a scale that we have not seen in half a century.

"An attack on the legacy and the hard-won progress of those who organized, bled, and died across this state of Alabama. Americans who died so their children and grandchildren could know the taste of freedom and know the power of having a voice. So they could know that this is their democracy, too. Full stop. We will not let anyone steal that legacy.

"Montgomery has been in this fight before. Here in this city, the forces of freedom and democracy stood up to the forces of tyranny and racism. And we will wage that fight again. Because we're not going back. We're not going back to Jim Crow. We're not going back to racist voter suppression. We're not going to stand by while they decimate Black and Brown political power.

"Ella Baker told us what we need to do. She said, 'We who believe in freedom cannot rest.' And our dear friend and mentor - and we are so proud to have called him those two words - liked to tell us: 'Find a way to get in the way.' And that's exactly what we're going to do.

"We are going to keep fighting in the courts. We are going to fight for and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We are going to keep organizing and mobilizing in every community across this country. We are going to channel the fury that is out there - hardworking people across this country who can't work any faster or harder but are not making it because the system is rigged against them. And they know that we can't have a fair economy, we can't have fair opportunity, unless we have fair elections. So we are going to win back the People's House because we have the American people on our side. We have truth on our side. We have history on our side. And that is why we will triumph in the end.

"But it is so, so moving to be here with all of you. We see it, just like we did when John Lewis took us across that Edmund Pettus Bridge, with that steep rise on that bridge, that you're in the middle of it before you can see what awaits. And we know we're facing the same violence and ugliness that John Lewis and those foot soldiers faced. But we're going to cross it. And we're going to cross it together - and when we do, we will triumph."

To watch the full press conference, click HERE.

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