National Urban League:
A year later, the January 6 Insurrection Still Rages On
NEW YORK (January 6, 2022) – National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in observance of the one-year anniversary of the January 6, 2021, insurrection:
“A year ago today, Americans watched in horror and revulsion as a savage mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, intent upon overturning a fair and free election through violence or even murder, if necessary.
“The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has interviewed more than 300 witnesses and reviewed tens of thousands of documents. The Department of Justice has charged more than 700 defendants with alleged crimes ranging from entering restricted Capitol grounds to conspiracy against the United States. Yet the attack on American democracy continues, unabated.
“The ongoing assault relies less on brute violence – though the threat is ever-present – and more on subversion. But the motivation, the fuel, and the ultimate goal remain as stark and repugnant as they were revealed to be on that dark day one year ago.
“The motivation is furious resentment of the historic Black and Brown voter turnout that contributed to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The fuel is the ‘Big Lie’—the ugly myth that the election was ‘stolen.’ And the goal is not only to disenfranchise Black and Brown Americans with repressive voting laws, not only to dilute their influence with manipulative racial gerrymandering but to ignore the results of elections entirely.
“The work of the Justice Department and the January 6 Committee is vital to uncovering the origins of the deadly insurrection and to holding the perpetrators accountable. But the most dangerous conspirators weren’t the ones strutting the halls of Congress in horned fur hats and superhero costumes. They’re the ones quietly dismantling democracy in state capitols across the country. And they must be held to account too.
“The National Urban League and our affiliates across the country continue to lead the fight against voter suppression and election subversion at the national and state level and advocate for federal legislation to restore and protect voting rights.”