Black NY lawyers aid a national fight against voter suppression

19 states passed restrictive voting laws ahead of the midterms [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [Ad: We connect health and social care. click here to find out more at unite us dot org]( Advertisement Black lawyers in New York aid a larger effort to counter voter suppression [By Arun Venugopal]( [the Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition holding a voter protection workshop in a conference room] Young Black Lawyers' Organizing Coalition A group of Black attorneys is mounting [a nationwide effort to protect voting rights in African American communities]( during the midterm elections, following a raft of restrictive state-level laws passed by conservative politicians. The effort, known as the Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition, bills itself as "among the largest Black-led voter education efforts to identify and resist voter suppression tactics to ensure that their ballots are counted," and will target voters in seven states: Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The initiative was started in 2019 by Abdul Dosunmu, who earned his law degree at New York University School of Law and served as a special assistant to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony R. Foxx during the Obama administration. He said he hopes to train 300 Black lawyers and law students, who will in turn give voting rights workshops to 60,000 voters in Black communities. "Our goal is to make sure that those Black voters are not only able to freely and fully vote themselves," said Dosunmu, "but that they are also empowered to be ambassadors for voter protection information." A December 2021 analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice found that at least 19 states passed 34 laws restrict­ing access to voting. Additionally, more than 440 bills with provi­sions that restrict voting access were intro­duced in 49 states. [According to the Brennan Center,]( these measures, which include strict voter ID requirements, "disproportionately impact voters of color." Kayla Rooney, an associate at a Manhattan-based white shoe law firm, told Gothamist that "with the rise of Trump, 'fake news' and right-wing nationalism and the explicit and implicit encouragement from Republicans for outward intimidation and violence against Black communities and their ability to vote, it’s become increasingly important for me to find ways to protect that community through my role as a lawyer." Rooney cited Sherrilyn Ifill, former head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, as an inspiration. "[Ifill] said, 'I don’t know of anything in the history of Black people in this country in which I’ve read some account in which it ended with, and then they gave up.' That’s just not what we do," Rooney said. [Read more here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ad: We connect health and social care. click here to find out more at unite us dot org]( Advertisement --------------------------------------------------------------- More political headlines this week: [Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin stand side by side] [Donald Trump is raising money for Rep. Lee Zeldin in NY gubernatorial race]( The former president appeared at a Jersey Shore fundraiser for Zeldin over the weekend. The Long Island congressman currently trails Gov. Kathy Hochul by about $10 million in the fundraising column. [a sidewalk sign directing people to a voting precinct] [Pro-Trump group joins fight against noncitizen voting in NYC]( An Indiana-based conservative group has filed a lawsuit on behalf of four local Black registered voters who contend that the law — which a State Supreme Court already struck down earlier this summer — is racially discriminatory. [a road sign that says "gun free zone"] [Judge calls NY gun laws unconstitutional, but lets them stand ... for now]( A U.S. district judge indicated last week that New York's new law allowing gun bans in dozens of "sensitive locations" won't ultimately pass legal muster, but allowed them to take effect. [an old timey soda fountain worker pours whipped cream on a sundae] [State senator clarifies that you don't have to be 21 to buy whipped cream]( The state senator behind a law that restricts the sale of NO2 cartridges in professional-grade whipped cream canisters stepped in after bodegas started posting age requirement stickers for regular whipped cream cans. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ad: We connect health and social care. click here to find out more at unite us dot org]( Advertisement [the logo for Brian Lehrer's politics podcast] [Congressional (and gubernatorial) races heat up]( Politico's Steven Shepard shares updates on some of the tightest races heading into the midterms. [LISTEN]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential political coverage and more. 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