Just Democracy Runs Times Square Billboard Calling on Senate Majority Leader Schumer to “Abolish the Filibuster”
New York, NY — Today, Just Democracy mounted a billboard in Times Square urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reckon with the filibuster’s racist history and abolish the Senate loophole once and for all. Resembling a movie poster, the billboard features quotes from President Obama calling the filibuster a “Jim Crow relic,” from former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stating it has “outlived its usefulness,” and from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling it “a cherished tool of segregationists.” The billboard will run through Sunday, January 31, to remind the 117th Congress that Black and Brown voters will not sit back while the filibuster blocks critical social justice and civil rights bills.
For live images and B-roll of the billboard, please see here.
"Black and Brown voters made Senator Schumer the Majority Leader and delivered progressives in Washington a clear mandate,” said Ashlee Wisdom, Founder of Health In Her HUE and member of the Just Democracy coalition. “If we are going to make progress on COVID relief, health care, gun violence prevention, or climate change — issues that disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities — we must first abolish the filibuster. Too much is on the line. We urge Senator Schumer and Democrats in Congress to take this overdue step toward addressing the systemic racism that has plagued our Senate, our democracy, and our communities for generations.”
The Just Democracy billboard comes as Senator Schumer and Senator McConnell remain at an impasse over the filibuster as they work to organize the Senate under a new power-sharing agreement, evidence that Senator McConnell is already looking to impede the majority, and proof that Senator Schumer should move ahead with a 50 vote threshold.
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About Just Democracy
Just Democracy is an intersectional coalition with racial justice at its core — uplifting voices from all walks of American life that are too often left out of the conversation. The coalition is made up of over 40 Black and Brown-led organizations working across issue areas. It mobilizes thousands who know that advancing social and racial justice issues first requires bold structural democracy reform.
To speak with a Just Democracy spokesperson, please email press@justdemocracy.us.
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