Thousands of people converged on Washington, D.C. this weekend, as part of Democracy Awakening - a movement to demand a democracy that works for all Americans. Elected officials must be accountable to the people, not just to Big Money from corporations and wealthy donors. On April 15, 2016, citizens of Manatee and Sarasota counties hosted a Democracy Awakening rally in solidarity.
Andy Mele, of the the Manatee-Sarasota Sierra Club, gave a rundown of the Supreme Court decisions that opened the floodgates for Big Money campaign contributions. Lou Murray, of Newtown Nation, gave concrete examples of voter suppression in African American communities in Manatee County. Valerie Buchand, of Newtown Nation, spoke to the power of the people. Susie Copeland, of the Manatee County NAACP, focused on getting folks to vote. Kindra Muntz, of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, detailed many of the election reform bills stalled in Congress right now. Charles McKenzie, of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, spoke to the importance of voting. Arlene Sweeting, of the Peace Education and Action Center, spoke about the need for reform.
Other local groups to endorse the rally included the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice Social Justice Committee, the Nation Group, National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United-Florida, American Association of University Women-Manatee Chapter, In Granny D’s Footsteps, United Nations Organization, and Occupy Bradenton.
