Voting rights and equal access to the polls reemerged in political discussions this year, three years after the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
As President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration prepares for the transition of power, the NAACP is keeping a close eye on what the change could mean for African-Americans.
Hilary Shelton, the NAACP’s Washington bureau director and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy, spoke at the Freedom Fund Benefit here in Louisville and also dropped by our studios to talk with me.
Listen to our conversation in the player above.
On issues with voter suppression:
"We still see there are a number of problems; we're gathering the information from a number of places from across the country. We know in places like, throughout Ohio, we had some major challenges and reports. Florida...there were a number of concerns as well. St. Louis, Missouri, were places we had issues, and there were a number of other places across the country, too."
On finding common ground with President-elect Trump:
"Regardless of who the president is, the NAACP is non-partisan. We don't endorse political candidates or political parties. We've heard a number of things that were raised throughout the campaign, that raised concerns for us as well, as a matter of fact to the point that we actually invited Mr. Trump to come and address our full body of delegates at our national convention this summer in Cincinnati to understand more clearly how he's going to address the challenges and problems of our country, recognizing the challenges that oftentimes happen that separate the African-American community out."
