[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"core\/picturefill,entity_embed\/caption,views\/views.ajax,views\/views.module","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376820__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"376820","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/376820","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376820__en","pager_element":0}}},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"0ae5601d8790ff50fca3cf23b9ac9170285f2f75823ebdc8d9cc054bc03a679b"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":"\u003Clink rel=\u0022stylesheet\u0022 media=\u0022all\u0022 href=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_reI-6YIYy-k9pvxm-gaCRrn5cSrTZRtyAMrp4YXDUJw.css\u0022 \/\u003E\n"},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_VkK39bvB4H6LLVemwPFz8QWcUMTFqZ3FFo_LBVv_4vs.js"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"replaceWith","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376820__en","data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__376820__en\u0022\u003E\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \u003Cdiv\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022blog-block__content__description rich-text pt-6 mb:pt-10 mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EA century after the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution granted women the right to vote, Black women are still \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/09\/22\/us-officials-pandemic-response-impaired-right-vote\u0022\u003Efighting disenfranchisement and discrimination\u003C\/a\u003E in the 2020 elections, where \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2019\/11\/20\/voting-human-rights-guide-2020\u0022\u003Ekey human rights issues\u003C\/a\u003E are at stake.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ongoing fight for Black women\u2019s right to vote took center stage on Wednesday in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CGnJ2qGH1-p\/\u0022\u003Ean Instagram Live conversation\u003C\/a\u003E between Nicole Austin-Hillery, executive director of the US Program at Human Rights Watch, and Ashley Smith, an Alabama-based attorney and member of the Southern Rural Black Women\u2019s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/srbwi.org\/index.php?\/site\/page\/contact-us\u0022\u003ESRBWI\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n \n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed align-right embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-media embedded-entity-bundle-image embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable embed--right\u0022\u003E\n \n\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \n \n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/55450\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/media_2020\/10\/202010US_BlackWomenVotingIG_blog.jpg?itok=tCw0FW46 480w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/media_2020\/10\/202010US_BlackWomenVotingIG_blog.jpg?itok=WQBdMNa3 850w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/media_2020\/10\/202010US_BlackWomenVotingIG_blog.jpg?itok=WQBdMNa3\u0022 width=\u0022850\u0022 height=\u0022478\u0022 alt=\u0022Nicole Austin-Hillery and Ashley Smith engage in an Instagram Live conversation on voting rights for Black women.\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 typeof=\u0022foaf:Image\u0022 \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewbox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=#sprite-expand\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__credit\u0022\u003E\u00a9 \u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESmith is a voting rights advocate working and residing in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blog.lareviewofbooks.org\/essays\/maternal-health-covid-19-racial-divide\/\u0022\u003EBlack Belt\u003C\/a\u003E, a rural, predominantly African-American region of Alabama where poverty is widespread and people often suffer poor health outcomes. Smith noted that Black women in the Black Belt experience obstacles that make voting more difficult, including lack of access to transportation and the disproportionate devastation that Covid-19 has \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/content\/376097\u0022\u003Ebrought to Black communities.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESmith and Austin-Hillery noted that Alabama is also home to the case that led to the US Supreme Court decision \u003Cem\u003EShelby County v. Holder\u003C\/em\u003E, which in 2013 gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. \u201cSince that decision,\u201d Austin-Hillery wrote in an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/04\/26\/opinions\/vote-rights-pandemic-covid-19-austin-hillery\/index.html\u0022\u003Eop-ed for CNN.com\u003C\/a\u003E, \u201cnumerous states have changed laws to require voters to show photo IDs, have purged their voter rolls, or have shortened or ended early voting. Court challenges in\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.caller.com\/story\/news\/texasregion\/2020\/03\/05\/texas-voter-suppression-lawsuit-legal-fight-2020-election\/4794587002\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETexas\u003C\/a\u003E,\u00a0\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/news\/politics-government\/article240387671.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ENorth Carolina\u003C\/a\u003E\u00a0and other states have shown that these changes make it harder for black, Latino, poor and older communities to vote.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut Black women remain a powerful voting block that persists despite efforts to suppress their full participation in democracy. Smith and Austin-Hillery discussed the long history of Black women \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/blog\/womens-rights\/celebrate-womens-suffrage-dont-whitewash-movements-racism\u0022\u003Efighting for the right to vote\u003C\/a\u003E, and the leaders who inspire them in their own work \u2013 including civil rights activist \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/retropolis\/wp\/2017\/10\/06\/civil-rights-crusader-fannie-lou-hamer-defied-men-and-presidents-who-tried-to-silence-her\/\u0022\u003EFannie Lou Hamer\u003C\/a\u003E, who was\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eji.org\/news\/remembering-1963-fannie-lou-hamer-arrested-and-beaten-winona-mississippi\/\u0022\u003E arrested and suffered severe injuries from a beating\u003C\/a\u003E in her battle for voting rights, and Shirley Chisolm, the first Black woman to be \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2018\/11\/06\/664617076\/a-look-back-on-shirley-chisholm-s-historic-1968-house-victory\u0022\u003Eelected to the US House of Representatives\u003C\/a\u003E and the first Black woman to vie to be a major party\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/smithsonian-institution\/unbought-and-unbossed-when-black-woman-ran-for-the-white-house-180958699\/\u0022\u003Enominee for US president\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESmith and Austin-Hillery shared their faith in Black women to continue breaking boundaries and overcoming obstacles for generations to come.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think we are raising a generation that will be fearless,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey cannot be stopped. They will not be denied.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CGnJ2qGH1-p\/\u0022\u003EWatch the full Instagram Live conversation \u0026gt; \u0026gt; \u0026gt; \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null}]