Martin Luther King Jr.'s family calls on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to 'ensure that the Jim Crow filibuster does not stand in the way' of voting rights

The family of Martin Luther King Jr. organized in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday to call on Sinema to support voting rights.

Martin Luther King III was joined by his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and his daughter, Yolanda Renee King. Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, and Joyce Beatty, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, were also in attendance.

King III said that Arizona is close to ground zero because there are 19 states that have passed regressive laws.

He said that Senator Sinema was one of the challenges in getting these bills passed. It made sense to come to Arizona. Some laws make it harder for people to vote.

The Saturday event was organized to call on Senator Sinema to pass federal voting rights legislation and ensure that the Jim Crow filibuster does not stand in the way, according to the press release.

The King family led a march through the city of Phoenix after speeches, according to CNN journalist Sara Boxer.

Sarah Boxer is on January 15, 2022.

Sinema, a Democrat representing Arizona, took to the Senate floor on Thursday to reiterate her support for the 60-vote threshold and her opposition to changing the Senate rules on a party-line basis.

Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have called for the elimination of the filibuster to allow Democrats, who hold a narrow majority in the Senate, to pass key legislative priorities without interference from members of the GOP.

Two bills were passed this week by House Democrats. One of the bills is a sweeping voting-rights and democracy-reform bill, the other is a re-enactment of parts of the Voting Rights Act that were struck down or weakened by federal courts, Insider previously reported.

"These bills help treat the symptoms of the disease, but they do not fully address the disease itself," Sinema said on Thursday. I will not support actions that will make the underlying disease of division worse. The debate over the Senate's 60-vote threshold shines a light on our broader challenges.
Insider previously reported that King III said history would remember Sinema "unkindly."
Martin Luther King III said that black and brown Americans are losing their right to vote because of Sen. Sinema's stubbornness. She's siding with the legacy of Bull Connor and George Wallace, instead of the legacy of my father and all those who fought to make real our democracy.