Lawrence Guyot, long time civil rights advocate, dies

Lawrence Guyot (July 17, 1939 – November 23, 2012) was a civil rights activist who was the head of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party from 1964

(Publisher's note: This story just came in. Lawrence Guyot was a longtime fighter for civil rights. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Philadelphia, Miss., on the steps of that infamous courthouse. He will be missed by many who care about civil rights and freedoms in this country. He was a person who followed his passions and dreams. SK)

Civil rights leader and D.C. statehood activist Lawrence Guyot died today at the age of 73, reports the Afro:

Guyot died at home after a long battle with diabetes and heart disease. Friends who had spoken with him in recent weeks said he was elated at having seen the reelection of President Obama, of whom he was an ardent supporter. He told the AFRO he voted early because he wanted to make sure his vote was counted as his health failed.

Guyot was born in Pass Christian, Miss., on July 17, 1939. He grew up in atmosphere where Blacks had more freedom than they did in other areas of Mississippi, however after enrolling in Tougaloo College at age 17, he discovered the depth of the discrimination that other Blacks suffered in terms of voting and exercising their full citizenship rights. He was one of the early volunteers for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Working closely with activists like Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Bob Moses and Dorie Ladner, Guyot was among the students, Black and White, who put forth their energy and risked their lives to register voters and protest discriminatory policies in everything from business to education.

He was jailed at the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary, known as Parchman Farm. more than once, suffered several brutal beatings at the hands of corrupt law enforcement officials and faced down death several times. But that did not reduce his resolve to help his people.

Guyot was also active in local politics, serving as a Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and allying himself with a number of local campaigns.

During the fight for same-sex marriage in D.C., Guyot also bucked many from his own generation to argue that marriage equality was a matter of civil rights: "This is a fight whose time has come. There is no middle road on this. You either want liberty for everyone, or you want liberty for non-gays," he was quoted as saying in the Post.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

Voting Rights Under Observation by DOJ

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Justice Department to Monitor Elections in New York

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor primary elections on June 26, 2012, in Orange County and Queens, N.Y., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. 

Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order.  Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Orange County based on a federal court order entered in 2012.  The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these counties, and a Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials. 

In addition, Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Queens.   A Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country.  To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at  1-800-253-3931.

Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.

More DOJ Voting Rights Activity

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Wythe County, Virginia, on Bailout from the Voting Rights Act

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Wythe County, Va., that will allow for the county and its three political subdivisions, the Wythe County School District and the towns of Rural Retreat and Wytheville, to bail out from their status as “covered jurisdictions” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt these jurisdictions from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.   The agreement is in the form of a consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and must be approved by the court.  

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, certain covered jurisdictions, determined according to Section 4 of the act, are required to seek preclearance for any changes in voting qualifications, standards, practices or procedures from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or from the U.S. Attorney General, prior to their implementation.   Section 4 of the act provides that a covered jurisdiction may seek to “bail out,” or remove itself from such coverage, and therefore be exempted from the preclearance requirements, by seeking a declaratory judgment before a three-judge panel in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.   A bailout judgment can be issued only if the court determines that the jurisdiction meets certain eligibility requirements for bailout contained in the statute, including a 10-year record of nondiscrimination in voting-related actions.   The act also provides that the attorney general can consent to entry of a judgment of bailout only if, based upon investigation, the attorney general is satisfied that the jurisdiction meets the eligibility requirements.

Wythe County filed its bailout action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 3, 2012.   Counsel for the county contacted the attorney general prior to filing the action, indicating that the county was interested in seeking a bailout.   The county provided the Justice Department with substantial information, and the department conducted an investigation to determine the county’s eligibility.   Based on that investigation, the department is satisfied that the county meets the Voting Rights Act’s requirements for bailout.

“After a thorough analysis of the information provided by the county and obtained through the department’s independent investigation, we believe the county has satisfied the bailout requirements,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “The collaboration between the county and department assured the resolution of this matter in a manner envisioned by the drafters of the Voting Rights Act.”

The consent decree details the legal and factual basis for a bailout determination and, if approved by the court, will grant the county’s request.   The court will retain jurisdiction of the action for 10 years and can reopen the action upon the motion of the attorney general or any aggrieved person alleging conduct by the county that would have originally precluded the county from bailing out if it had occurred during the 10-year period preceding entry of the consent decree.  

Information about bailout, the Voting Rights Act, and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/crt/voting/.   Complaints may be reported to the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

Related Material:

• Joint Motion for Entry of Consent Judgment and Decree

Texas Elections Require Monitoring; DOJ

Department of Justice

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Friday, May 13, 2011

Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Texas

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on May 14, 2011, in Galveston, Jefferson, Liberty, Medina and San Patricio Counties in Texas to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.  In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process.  The monitored jurisdictions are required to provide language assistance in Spanish.

Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order.  Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Galveston, Jefferson and Medina Counties based on the attorney general’s certification.   The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these counties, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.  

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