The NAACP Is Resisting: Sit-In Protest In Alabama

The NAACP is protesting Trump's horrific nominee for Attorney General, Jeff Sessions:

The president of the NAACP and the head of the group's Mobile branch are occupying the Alabama senator's Mobile office until he withdraws from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general or the group gets arrested.

The protest at Sessions' Mobile Senate office was among several demonstrations held statewide against Sessions' nomination.

"As a matter of conscience, the NAACP has chosen not to remain silent on this critical matter," Birmingham NAACP head Hezekiah Johnson said outside Sessions' Senate office in Birmingham. "Our main concern is centered around the reality of voter suppression. We have found no evidence of his ability, past or present, to be impartial and unbiased as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America, especially in the areas of civil rights, voting rights and equal protection under the law."

Johnson was referring to the voting fraud case against blacks in Perry County that resulted in acquittal. Black critics of Sessions accused the then-U.S. attorney of fiercely pursuing voter fraud cases against blacks while ignoring similar cases against whites.

You can watch the live feed on the NAACP Facebook page. The NAACP's full case against Sessions is at the organization's webpage. An excerpt:

Senator Sessions supported the re-authorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2006, but called the bill “a piece of intrusive legislation” just months earlier. Sessions has consistently voted in favor of strict voter ID laws that place extra burdens on the poor and residents of color, and drive voter suppression across the country. When the Supreme Court struck down federal protections in 2012 that prevented thousands of discriminatory state laws from taking effect since 1965, Sessions declared it was “a good thing for the South.” As a prosecutor in 1985, Sessions maliciously prosecuted a former aide to Martin Luther King for helping senior citizens file absentee ballots in Alabama.

Rather than enforcing voting rights protections, Senator Sessions has instead made a career of seeking to dismantle them. When Shelby County v. Holder gutted the protections of the VRA, Senator Sessions cheered. For decades, he has pursued the rare and mystical unicorn of voter fraud, while turning a blind eye to the ever-growing issue of voter suppression.

While Senator Sessions’ historical record on civil rights remains one of dismay, it is his unrepentant stance against the vote that remains our issue. The threat of voter suppression is not a historical but current challenge. At least 10 times in the past 10 months, the NAACP defended voting rights against coordinated campaigns by legislators targeting African-American voters in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and many other states.

This is absolutely vital work. With an enemy to voting rights like Jeff Sessions in the AG's seat, we can only expect voter suppression to become wore--much worse--as the Republicans go full-on with their white supremacist fascism. They are trying to establish one-party rule, and they know full well that Americans of color will overwhelmingly vote against them. The only way they can stay in power is through more and more of the same suppression techniques they have been imposing since the gutting of the VRA.

The brave members of the NAACP who are putting their bodies on the line for their rights, and the rights of all Americans, deserve respect and assistance. It is no exaggeration to say that they are defending American democracy itself. If you are able to donate or join (one does not have to be African-American to be a member)now would be a great time to do so. Please don't let this story die, and if you can, challenge our media to cover it fully and fairly.