Towson University NAACP rep says mass struggle needed to defend voting rights

The following talk was delivered by a representative of the Towson University Chapter of the NAACP at an emergency press conference and protest to stop the Supreme Court’s racist attacks on voting rights. The event was held by the Peoples Power Assembly on May 7 in front of the Garmatz Federal Courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Good evening everyone, my name is Christian from the Towson University Chapter of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and I am honored to serve as Towson University’s first-ever Mr. NAACP, a role dedicated to connecting our chapter with the communities around us and uplifting the voices that too often go unheard.

Today, we are witnessing a dangerous step backward. On April 29, the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act and opened the door for states to dismantle majority-Black voting districts. This is not just politics. This is an attack on Black self-determination, Native sovereignty, and the power of our communities to be represented fairly.

We have seen tactics like this before. During the era of redlining, Black communities were intentionally segregated and denied investment, opportunity, and political influence simply because of the color of our skin. Today, gerrymandering attempts to achieve a similar outcome by redrawing voting maps to divide and weaken Black voices and dilute our political power.

Different strategy with the same goal: Silence us.

But history reminds us that progress has never come from silence or complacency. The right to vote was not handed to us. It was fought for through protest, organizing, and collective struggle. Our ancestors marched, resisted, and sacrificed so future generations could have a voice in shaping this country.

Now it is our responsibility to protect that voice. We must organize, educate, mobilize, and show up in every election. We must challenge systems designed to push our communities out of the conversation. Because when they try to erase our power, we respond by building even stronger movements.

Mass struggle won us the right to vote.
And mass struggle will defend it.