Thousands of people from across the United States converged on Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday for the All Roads Lead to the South rally. They arrived by bus, car, and plane to protest the Supreme Court's recent Louisiana v. Callais decision, which significantly eroded the Voting Rights Act and limited protections against voting discrimination.
Rally at Historic Site
The rally took place outside the Alabama state capitol building, in the same plaza where the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches occurred. These three nonviolent demonstrations were pivotal in securing Black voting rights.
Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed, the first Black person to hold the office, addressed the crowd: "We're here, Montgomery, not at a stopping point, but at a starting point. We're here because of the spirit, courage, and commitment of our forefathers and foremothers who brought us to this point."
Republican-Led Redistricting Efforts
Following the Supreme Court ruling, Republican-led states have moved quickly to redraw voting maps in ways that diminish Black political power. Tennessee and Florida have already enacted new maps, while Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia are expected to follow. Mississippi temporarily paused its redistricting efforts, with the governor vowing to revisit the issue soon.
Voting activists from these states, along with local and national elected officials including Senators Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock and Representatives Terri Sewell, Shomari Figures, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, took the stage to energize attendees.
Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver, who protested her state's redistricting by standing on her desk, declared: "We need to fight with all we got. They may draw some racist maps, but we are the south. This is our south. The south belongs to us. The south has something to say, and we will speak loud and clear in November."
Community and Faith
The event had the feel of a worship service, reflecting the Black church's historic role in the civil rights movement. It began with a prayer, and when an attendee experienced a medical emergency, the emcee asked the crowd to "put their praying hands together." Multiple gospel songs were performed throughout the day.
Spontaneous chants of "vote, vote, vote" erupted from the audience at various points.
Personal Connections
For many attendees, the rally was deeply personal. Carole Burton, a Montgomery resident, said: "My grandmama, my momma, my mother-in-law – our ancestors did not cross that bridge, walk during the bus boycott, or endure beatings for this. We didn't do all that for this."
The day began in Selma with a prayer service at Tabernacle Baptist Church, followed by a silent walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" violence against civil rights marchers. Participants then traveled by bus to Montgomery, where they joined thousands more.
Nationwide Mobilization
All Roads Lead to the South was not an isolated event. More than 50 satellite rallies were scheduled across the country for those unable to travel to Alabama. Speakers emphasized that the fight for voting rights would continue beyond this rally.
Rukia Lumumba, director of the Mississippi VRA Rapid Response Coalition and M4BL Action Fund, said: "Our task is bigger than defending the past. Our task is to build a democracy worthy of the people who bled to create it in the first place."
