Hamm said the ruling is “one of the worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions” since the Dred Scott case of 1857.
“We demand that Congress pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act at the federal level,” Hamm continued. “We demand that the state legislature pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of New Jersey. It has been passed by the Assembly now we want it passed by the Senate.”
“We also demand the reform and restructuring of the Supreme Court,” he added. “Lifetime appointments must end, term limits should be imposed, and stronger ethics laws should be put in place.”
Speakers at the May 13 rally included Deborah Smith-Gregory, president of the NAACP Newark, Larry Hirsch, president of Local 913 American Federation of Government Employees, Daryn Martin, secretary-treasurer at District 1199J, the Rev. Michael Corso of Sophia Inclusive Community, Jimmy Small, chair of the Muslim League of Voters of New Jersey, Zayid Muhammad of New Jersey Communities for Accountable Policing, and Assatta Mann-Colon, community organizing manager with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
Other speakers included Heather Richner, associate counsel for the Democracy and Justice Program, the Rev. Anya Sammler, senior co-minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair, Evelyn Williams, vice chair of the South Ward Democratic Committee, and Larry Adams, vice chair of the People’s Organization For Progress.
