Although the meetings in previous years often focused on the Confederate flag protest, which flies outside the state legislature next to the monument to Confederate soldiers, attention turned to the voter identification law this year.
U. S. Department of Justice struck down the legislation. The Obama administration said it would not be acceptable in 1965 voting rights act, which prohibits discriminatory practices that prevent black from voting. On Monday, protesters carried placards with the inscription. "Voter ID (equals) poll tax"
U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder was among those scheduled to speak.
William Barber, president of the NAACP in North Carolina, spoke at a prayer service in the morning and leave little doubt that the law will be the focus of today. He talked about the many black pioneers who gave their lives for their children and grandchildren had the opportunity to vote, referring to the civil rights icon, Medgar Evers, such as. He also referred to three students from South Carolina State University, shot dead by police during a demonstration for civil rights in 1968.
Barber said that this is a critical time to ensure that voting rights are not lost much.
"We are here to protect, not to retreat," says Barber.
Several other states have adopted laws similar to the one passed in South Carolina, which requires voters to show photo identification before voting. Texas, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin among them.
These laws were already on the books in Georgia and Indiana, and were approved by President George W. Bush, the Justice Department. The law of Indiana, adopted in 2005, was confirmed by U. S. Supreme Court in 2008.
Critics compare the poll tax legislation and the tests used to prevent blacks from voting in the era of civil rights. Fans, many of which are Republicans, say such laws are necessary to prevent fraud.
On Monday, prepared comments holder, who was released from his office before he spoke, a lawyer over the nation are determined to make the country's electoral system more accessible to U.S. citizens. The holder does not agree with those who say the law of the voting rights are no longer needed.
"I wish it were so, but the reality is that -. In jurisdictions across the country - both overt and subtle forms of discrimination too often," he said.
"And if almost five decades have passed since Dr. King shared his vision of a mountain - despite all our progress, obstacles, we have decomposed, and the differences that we have cured - as a nation we have not yet reached the promised land."
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