Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. But in the November election, voters in almost half the country will face voting restrictions. New Voter ID laws, fewer polling places, voter purging, elimination of drop boxes, and making it a crime to assist people with mail-in ballots are making it harder to vote and targeting voters of color and young voters.
Join us for a powerful virtual mobilization to combat voter suppression before the upcoming election! We're excited to have Maya Wiley, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Rev. Mark Thompson, journalist and host of the Make It Plain podcast; Andrea Miller, founder of the Center for Common Ground; and actors Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years), Mel Harris (Thirtysomething); and the Peace Poets.
ASL will be provided.
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Mel Harris is an actress/writer/director known for her portrayal of Hope Steadman on the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award winning series, thirtysomething. She starred in the NBC comedy Something So Right and drama series Saints and Sinners. Harris has appeared in numerous feature films and television projects. She will next be seen reprising her role as Kathy from the feature film King of Knives in the sequel, Queen of Knives.
Harris has added writing and producing to her slate with her partner, Emmy Award winning writer and producer, Bob Brush, under their shingle Topanga Moon Productions.
Harris’ full time hobby is designing and renovating houses. She lives in Upstate New York on Hope Pond, with her husband, a menagerie of animals, and whichever children happen to drop in.
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Andrea Miller is the Founding Board Member of the Center for Common Ground, Executive Director of People Demanding Action, Founding President of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia, and a member of the Democracy and Governance working group of the Virginia Green New Deal. Andrea is an IT and Political Director and a digital and elections strategist. She designs and administers digital phone banks and texting programs. From 2013 to 2015, she led the Progressive Round Table on Capitol Hill, bringing together members of Congress, activists, and non-profit leaders. Her expertise is in voting rights, climate, and the Equal Rights Amendment. She has successfully advocated for legislation on both the Federal and State level. In 2008 she was the Democratic nominee for the Virginia 4th Congressional district.
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Radio & TV Host, Political Analyst and Commentator; graduate of the University of the District of Columbia, Mark was honored at the 104th Annual NAACP Convention in Orlando in July 2013 “for 25 years of crusading journalism and outstanding leadership in furthering the work of civil and human rights.” Mark is a frequent analyst and commentator on cable news.
Mark’s began his broadcast career in 1988 with Radio One, Inc. under the guidance of owner Cathy Hughes, for whom the Howard University School of Communications is now named, and the very building in which Mark was born when it was formerly Freedmen’s Hospital. Mark began as a news correspondent for WOL-AM, which once featured the renowned Petey Greene. When Hughes tapped Mark to host her popular morning show, she hired Dick Gregory to be his co-host.
Mark anchored coverage of the dedication of the MLK Memorial. He broadcast Occupy Wall Street live, on location from New York's Zuccotti Park. His ministry, broadcasting and activism have taken him to the streets of Sanford, Florida, Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland in the aftermath of the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. In 2013, at a Moral Monday led by The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, he was arrested and jailed live on air. He broadcast from Johannesburg and Soweto during the first-ever democratic elections in 1994 in South Africa, where he received the name, Matsimela Mapfumo, which means “firmly rooted soldier.” He has broadcast from every Democratic National Convention since 1992. For the past ten years, Mark has been the only broadcaster to provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the NAACP Annual Convention. He has also broadcast from the annual Womens March since 2017.
Mark attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service before earning his Bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of the District of Columbia. He earned his Masters in Divinity from Howard University.
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Maya Wiley is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. A nationally respected civil rights attorney, she has been a litigator and a program creator and policy advocate in philanthropy, non-profits, government, and higher education. Prior to taking the helm of the Leadership Conference, Ms. Wiley ran for Mayor in 2021, garnering the second highest number of first choice votes in a rank choice vote election. In 2014, she became the first Black woman to be Counsel to a New York City Mayor, Bill deBlasio where she worked to protect and expand civil rights, Minority and Women-Owned Business contracts and broadband access. Wiley became a Senior Vice President for Social Justice at the New School University, where she also founded the Digital Equity Laboratory. While there, she chaired the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). As chair, she led the release of the “hold” on proceedings against Daniel Pantaleo whose illegal chokehold killed Eric Garner, and also Co-Chaired the Mayor’s School Diversity Advisory Group that authored two major reports on integrating New York City public schools.
Wiley has been a litigator at the ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc, and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. She helped create a criminal justice program for a major foundation in South Africa. Wiley co-founded and led a national policy advocacy organization, the Center for Social Inclusion, now a part of Race Forward, a national policy strategy organization working to end structural racism. Wiley has received numerous awards, and has been a public voice for rights, justice and democracy, through written opinion editorials and as a former legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Wiley is the author of the memoir, “Remember You Are A Wiley.”