Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, urges Congress to protect Black and Brown voters during pandemic

Knowles-Lawson, in partnership with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ campaign as well as the group And Still I Vote, penned an open letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday specifically calling for them to pass the HEROES Act, which passed in the House of Representatives in May.

The HEROES Act looks to increase voting access, provide additional funding for state and local governments, help fund coronavirus testing and provide a new round of direct payments to Americans. The GOP-led Senate, however, has not taken up the bill, as Republicans have so far balked at the prospect at the $3 trillion price tag and the need for additional stimulus.

“Congress has starved state and local communities of the resources they need to run safely accessible elections. We can’t allow this in November. Our democracy can’t wait,” Knowles-Lawson writes.

“Fall-out from the most recent primaries makes it abundantly clear that we must act now to ensure every citizen can freely and fairly vote in the upcoming general election, and chaos at polling places in recent primaries has demonstrated that elections officials are unprepared to hold safe and accessible elections this year,” Knowles-Lawson continued. She highlights recent voting issues at polling locations in Milwaukee, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Kentucky.

“In passing this legislation, you will take an affirmative step toward declaring that Black lives matter. You will help build an America as good as its ideals. And you will lead the country — thanks to the creation of a more accountable democracy in which all Americans’ voices are heard.”

Several mothers whose children have factored prominently in the Black Lives Matter movement also signed the letter.

Gwenn Carr, the mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin; Wanda Johnson, the mother of Oscar Grant; Wanda Cooper Jones, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery; Rep. Lucy McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis; Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor; and Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, all signed on.

The letter is also signed by a host of other celebrities, including Viola Davis and Halle Berry.

source: cnn.com