Statements of One Wisconsin Institute on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

MADISON, Wis. — The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Institute Program Director Analiese Eicher on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:

“Dr. King said, ‘So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself.’

“As we begin a new year, a new state legislative and congressional session and a new presidential administration the challenges to voting rights in Wisconsin and across our nation are as dire now as they were when Dr. King spoke these words decades ago.

“Our federal voting rights lawsuit exposed how in Wisconsin today politicians have been denying African Americans the right to vote as they manipulate the rules on voting to give themselves an unfair partisan advantage.

“Today we celebrate the life, work and wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and honor his legacy by continuing the fight to secure the rights of all Americans to make their voices heard in our elections.”