If there’s one thing that Maria Sanchez learned about American politics in the 20 years since she came from Cuba, it’s that the people have a voice.
Exercising that freedom led her and her 9-year-old grandson Adonis to UNITE HERE Local 355’s Miami Gardens office on Thursday morning for a two-day bus trip to Washington, D.C., in support of legislation that will protect voting rights.
“I want to instill in him at a young age how important it is to protect your right to vote,” Sanchez said through a translator.
The pair were among the more than 30 UNITE HERE 355 hospitality workers and allies traveling to D.C. as part of the “Freedom Ride for Voting Rights,” a nationwide effort organized by the union and Black Voters Matter. On Saturday, about 1,500 workers from across the country will march to the National Mall to protest laws that restrict ballot access.
For UNITE HERE 355, which has a primarily Black and Latinx membership, the journey is particularly important because of Florida’s recent voting law changes that critics say will disproportionately affect minorities.
“We live in a country where voting should be easy,” said Kandiz Lamb, the vice president of UNITE HERE 355. “Voting should be encouraged, not pulled away from people.”
The demonstration has already drawn comparisons to the 1961 Freedom Rides in which a diverse coalition of civil rights activists rode buses from D.C. to the South to advocate for desegregated bus terminals. That comparison somewhat troubles Duane Thwaites, only because it signals little has changed in 60 years.
“We as a country, as a nation, as a people have gone through this for so many years,” said Thwaites, a concession stand manager. “That’s kind of disappointing, [but] I think it’s good that we’re still fighting and we haven’t been discouraged.”
As of Monday, 21 states have enacted laws that will make voting more difficult, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked the extensive voting rights bill known as the For the People Act, which Democrats backed to counter the legislation passed in GOP-led states including Florida. The bill included mandates to automatically register voters, ban gerrymandering and require sitting presidents to release their tax returns.
Despite the bill’s defeat, Lamb still held hope for some type election reform. She had helped canvass in the January 2021 Georgia Senate runoff that turned the state blue, an effort many people — herself included — initially deemed impossible. To stop now, she said, would offend those who came before her.
“For many many years, our ancestors have fought really, really hard to get us to where we’re at,” Lamb said, “and we refuse to let these politicians take us backwards.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by Marie Gilles and 9-year-old Blessing Decius, who, dressed in an oversized red shirt with “Freedom Ride for Voting Rights” inscribed on the front, carried a picture she had drawn of the bus. Gilles had brought along Blessing so that her granddaughter could learn “everything about the right to vote.”
“When Grandma dies, she’s supposed to replace Grandma,” Gilles said just before leading Blessing onto the bus.
Asked why she had the illustration, Blessing replied: “Because I’m fighting for freedom.”
