THE PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS (POP)
PO BOX 22505
NEWARK, NJ 07101
973 801-0001
CONTACT: LAWRENCE HAMM
MAY 20, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
FORUM ON VOTING RIGHTS ATTACKS SCHEDULED
A forum titled “The Attack On Voting Rights And The War On Black People,” will be held on Friday, May 29, 2026, 7 pm at St Paul’s Baptist Church, 119 Elm Street in Montclair, New Jersey.
The event is sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress (POP) a grassroots group that works for racial, social, economic justice and peace.
“We are having this forum because we felt it was important to have a dialogue about what is happening to Black people in the United States at this particular moment in history,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.
“We decided to have this forum after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case. That ruling effectively killed the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” Hamm, who has been a resident of Montclair for more than thirty-five years, said.
“That was one of the worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions since the ruling in the Dred Scott case of 1857 which said that black people had no rights that white people were bound to respect,” he said.
Hamm said the court’s decision enables racist state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts and eliminate those districts which have large black populations.
“These states, most of which are part of the old Confederacy, have already redrawn their maps or are in the process of doing so. Ultimately, their efforts could result in the loss of as many as 19 congressional seats now held by African Americans,” he said.
“It could possibly leave the South, where the majority of African Americans still live, with little or no Black congressional representation,” he said.
However, the attack on voting rights is not the only reason the program is being held. He said Black people feel that they are being attacked politically, economically, and socially.
“The racist and fascist vitriol of President Trump, reactionary policies coming from the White House, the right wing decisions of the Supreme Court, failure of Congress to uphold the Constitution and stand up for equality and democracy makes it feel like we are being attacked from all sides,” Hamm said.
He stated additional reasons for having the program. Besides the attack on voting rights racism and racist violence against black people is on the rise.
The federal government is seizing state voter rolls to initiate purges that will negatively impact Black voters, in an attempt to rig the elections to ensure Republican victories in the upcoming midterm elections.
Enrollment of African American students at colleges and universities has declined due to the Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action in higher education.
Black unemployment has doubled this past year, with more than 600,000 black people losing their jobs, 350,000 of them black women, due in part to a sagging economy, federal budget cuts, and the ending of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
There is an all out assault on the teaching of Black History. Books about or related to Black people are being banned. Black studies courses are being eliminated. Teaching Black History is being prohibited or revised to comply with a white racist or supremacist narrative.
The federal government is attempting to censure exhibits about Black people in museums. It is removing the names of Black people from federal buildings and military facilities. It is re-erecting Confederate monuments, statues, and images. It has removed memorials to Black people who served in the U.S. military.
“On the one hand it feels like they are trying to erase us, and on the other like we are being dragged back to the nightmare of Jim Crow segregation. We feel under siege. We feel like there is a war on the black community,”he said.
The program will basically have two parts. The first part will consist of a panel discussion. The panelists will include community leaders and activists. The second part will consist audience participation.
“We are having this program not just to talk about the problems but also to discuss solutions and plans of action,” he said.
For more information please call People’s Organization for Progress at 973 801-0001.
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