M.L.B. Decision Marks Big Win For Voting Rights Activists – Others Must Get In The Game

Black Voters Matter co-founders LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright issued the following statement in response to Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta following Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s passage of sweeping voter restrictions: “We are pleased to see Major League Baseball join Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and other members of the [...]

M.L.B. Decision Marks Big Win For Voting Rights Activists – Others Must Get In The Game

Black Voters Matter co-founders LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright issued the following statement in response to Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta following Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s passage of sweeping voter restrictions:

“We are pleased to see Major League Baseball join Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and other members of the business community in standing up against Georgia’s unprecedented voter restrictions. Thanks to the relentless advocacy of civil rights, election integrity, and racial justice activists, this decision from the sports community will send a powerful message to Georgia officials: what’s happening in Georgia is racist and un-American, and it’s time for the nation to take a stand.

“As we stated in our corporate accountability campaign, democracy is good for business. We are already seeing the negative impact and economic fallout of this Draconian bill, which hurts Georgia’s image and presents it as a state that is backsliding toward the Jim Crow era — rather than a global New South state that embraces diversity, equity, inclusion and democracy.

“Now others need to get in the game. There are hundreds of other proposals in nearly all 50 states to restrict ballot access and disenfranchise Black communities; we need federal action immediately. President Biden has urged the Senate to reform the filibuster, pass HR1 and HR4, and protect our elections from predatory state laws. But there is even more that we can do to pressure legislators to do the right thing for our democracy. We are calling on athletes, major league sports teams, playing leagues, and others from the sports community to #GetInTheGame and join our campaign to protect voting rights nationwide.”