The exclusive virtual component of NAWL’s 125th-anniversary celebration, Protecting the Vote, Protecting Democracy was a four-part series exploring how the country reached a place where protecting democracy is paramount.
The series was exclusive to NAWL members.
Part 1
March 8, 2024
One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy
On International Women’s Day, March 8, we hosted a powerful conversation with renowned historian, author, and educator, Carol Anderson.
Weaving together her bestselling book with NAWL's history, Professor Anderson discussed the rollbacks to voter participation since the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Focusing on the aftermath of Shelby, Prof. Anderson followed the astonishing story of government-dictated racial discrimination as more and more states adopt voter suppression laws.
In enlightening detail, she explained how voter suppression works - from photo ID requirements to gerrymandering to poll closures. And with vivid characters, she explored the resistance: the organizing, activism, and court battles to restore the basic right to vote to all Americans.
Professor of African American Studies, Emory University
Bestselling author, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America (2020), One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy (2018), and the critically acclaimed #1 bestseller White Rage (2016)
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“What the people want is very simple - they want an America as good as its promise.”
– Barbara Jordan
Part 2
Wednesday
April 10, 2024
In part two of the series, we studied the current struggles of democracy in the United States. We specifically discussed the use of intentional intimidation tactics - including hate crimes, voter threats, and political violence - to erode democracy.
Leah C. Aden
Senior Counsel
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Nadia Aziz
Senior Program Director, Fighting Hate and Bias Program
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Moderator
Carla M. Castello
Shareholder
Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C.
Ami Gandhi
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Midwest Voting Rights Program
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
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“What we must not do - what we must never do - is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans, for something they cannot control, and deny what makes them human.”
– Loretta Lynch
Part 3
Friday
May 10, 2024
Part three of the series analyzed the systemic stripping of rights - including reproductive, transgender, and voting rights - to wear away at the democratic fabric of the country.
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“Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.”
– Constance Baker Motley
Part 4
Wednesday
June 5, 2024
We closed the series with a call to action. We explored the legal profession’s responsibility to protect democracy and what each of us, individually and collectively, can do in this pivotal election year.
Special Counsel
Covington & Burling LLP
Former Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Moderator
Carla M. Castello
Shareholder
Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C.
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“Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
– Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Partnering Organizations
Association for Women Lawyers
Association of Black Women Attorneys
Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law
Diversity & Flexibility Alliance
Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Georgia Hispanic Bar Association
Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers
Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers
Minnesota Women Lawyers
Mother Attorney Mentor Association (MAMAs) Austin
Women in eDiscovery (WiE)
Women Lawyers Association of Michigan
Women’s In-House Network
