King’s legacy. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we must continue our fight for voting rights. Tell your Senators to take a stand NOW! | Remembering Sidney Poitier. Last week, the world stood still as we lost a Hollywood legend and champion of the civil rights movement. Read more. | Calling all changemakers! Nominations are now open for youth activists who are making an impact within their communities. Submit a name here. | Your health matters. Flurona is real, but it isn’t a new super virus. It means you can get COVID-19 AND the flu at the same time. Learn how to stay safe. | We want all the action. Our latest episode dropped this week, and we’re kicking off 2022 with our expectations for President Biden. Tune in.

WASHINGTON — Leading civil rights organizations released the following joint statement urging senators to be on the right side of history and pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act:

Washington, D.C. (January 13, 2022)– Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement after the House passed the Freedom to Vote: John R Lewis Act with a vote of 220 to 203:

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“These men were Hollywood stars and yet here they were risking their lives for freedom, democracy and the least of their people in the lynchingest state in the nation. This is what I am thinking of today as we mark Sidney Poitier’s passing. This is legacy.” – Nikole Hannah-Jones

The year was 1964, and Mississippi was a cauldron of white supremacist terrorism. A year earlier, civil rights activist Medgar Evers had been shot and killed outside his own home by White Citizens Council member Byron De La Beckwith. The FBI had just discovered the battered bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, six weeks after they disappeared. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee desperately needed funds to continue the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project, better known as Freedom Summer.