The landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most successful civil rights laws in our nation’s history, and remains an important piece of national legislation. This training aimed to provide attendees with the tools and tips necessary to become active members of the voting rights bar. This training provided an overview of voting rights law including Section 5: Shelby County v. Holder, Section 2: Voter ID & Redistricting, and constitution claims illustrated by Crawford v. Marion County Board of Elections. It covered race & voting, litigation strategies, Photo ID cases, new theories found in cases like White v. Regester & Lario, and careers in Election Law and Voting Rights.
Featuring:
Gary Bledsoe – President, Texas NAACP
Wendy Davis – former Texas State Senator
Chad Dunn – Partner, Brazil & Dunn
Martin Golando – General Counsel, Mexican American Legislative Caucus
Gerry Hebert – Executive Director and Director of Litigation, Campaign Legal Center
David Richards – Senior Counsel, Richards Rodriguez & Skeith LLP
Former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis delivers the closing keynote address of the 2015 ACS Student Convention.
This panel explored progressive issue campaigns - how to pick them, run them, and frame winning arguments - and how they are utilized for current issues like immigration, racial equality and a living wage.
Featuring:
Kirk Adams - International Executive Vice President, SEIU
Nick Rathod - Executive Director, SiX
Lucy Stein - Advocacy Director, Progress Texas
Karla Vargas - Director of Employment & Legal Services, Workers Defense Project
Eric Marshall (moderator) - Executive Director, Funders' Committee for Civic Participation
This discussion explored the intersection of the 21st century workplace and progressive family values - how workers are affected by issues of reproductive justice, family medical leave, equal pay, fair living wage, LGBT discrimination and immigration.
Featuring:
Ann Beeson - Executive Director, Center for Public Policy Priorities
Rebecca Robertson - Legal and Policy Director, ACLU of Texas
Celina Moreno - Legislative Staff Attorney, MALDEF
Rick Levy - General Counsel, Texas AFL-CIO
Heather Busby - Executive Director, NARAL Pro-Choice TX
Debo Adegbile, partner at WilmerHale and ACS National Board of Directors member, addresses the 2015 Naitonal Convention in Austin, Texas.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, provides the opening keynote address to the 2015 Student Convention in Austin, Texas.
