The applause came in waves Monday morning inside Union Baptist Church in Trenton.
Several times during Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson’s remarks, the packed sanctuary rose to its feet, applauding the Mercer County lawmaker whose four-year effort helped carry the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act from an idea inspired by a trip to Selma, Alabama, to New Jersey law.
By the time the ceremony concluded with elected officials, clergy and community members joining hands to sing We Shall Overcome, the celebration had become more than recognition of a new law. It was a tribute to generations of civil rights advocates who fought to protect the right to vote and a reminder, speakers said, that the work continues.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, State Sen. Shirley Turner, Reynolds-Jackson and voting rights advocates gathered with hundreds of supporters to celebrate the legislation, which Sherrill signed earlier this month.
Named for the late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, the law was crafted in response to what its sponsors described as growing challenges to voting rights across the country and federal court decisions that weakened portions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure establishes new state protections against voter suppression and intimidation, creates a preclearance process for certain election changes in jurisdictions with histories of voting rights violations, expands language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency, strengthens protections against vote dilution and creates a statewide public elections database.
A four-year journey
For Reynolds-Jackson, the celebration marked the culmination of years of work that extended far beyond the State House.
“This has been a four-plus year journey,” she told the audience.
She credited the legislation to voters, clergy, civil rights organizations and more than 60 advocacy groups that shared their experiences and helped shape the bill.
“It’s important to me that I say thank you to the voters of New Jersey for sharing your stories, because that’s the foundation of this law,” Reynolds-Jackson said. “Everything that we do begins with listening. We don’t make these things up. We hear testimony.”
Those testimonies, she said, came from voters who described barriers ranging from inaccessible polling places and language obstacles to challenges faced by older adults, people with disabilities and communities that have historically encountered discrimination.
Reynolds-Jackson recalled traveling with Turner and others to Selma, where they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and reflected on the sacrifices made by Lewis and the marchers who fought for passage of the Voting Rights Act more than 60 years ago.
“We took that energy and we came back and we said, ‘We have to do something,'” she said.
As applause once again filled the sanctuary, Reynolds-Jackson reminded the audience that the law belonged not to any one elected official but to everyone who helped bring it across the finish line.
“We took your voices, we took your testimony, and this is what good government looks like when we all can work together.”
‘Good trouble became good law’
Turner, the Senate’s prime sponsor of the legislation, reflected on how uncertain the bill’s future seemed when it was first introduced.
“I remember when we embarked on this journey four years ago,” Turner said. “We introduced the bill … it didn’t go anywhere. But we did not turn back because we have come too far to turn back now.”
She recalled walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Lewis during the 35th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, saying the experience underscored the responsibility to continue protecting the right to vote.
While celebrating the bill’s passage, Turner cautioned that signing legislation is only the beginning.
“Signing a bill is not the end of the journey,” she said. “This law must be faithfully implemented, vigorously enforced and used to protect the people for whom it was written.”
Then, drawing another standing ovation, Turner borrowed Lewis’ signature phrase.
“Today,” she said, “good trouble became good law.”
Carrying the legacy forward
For Caldwell, the ceremony was also deeply personal.
His father marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis during the Civil Rights Movement and was among those beaten while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the 1965 Selma voting rights march. Years later, while attending Morehouse College, Caldwell had the opportunity to meet Lewis himself.
“A better America requires better laws,” Caldwell said.
As New Jersey’s secretary of state, whose office oversees elections, he said the legislation gives the state additional tools to ensure voting remains accessible and fair.
“Voting is a right in need of protection so it doesn’t become a privilege for some to exercise, but difficult or even impossible for others,” Caldwell said.
“I am humbled to carry Lewis’ torch, as we all are.”
Building on John Lewis’ legacy
Sherrill reflected on serving alongside Lewis in Congress, remembering both his courage and his compassion.
“There is no better way to honor his legacy than by putting his life’s work into law,” she said.
Ryan Haygood, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, whose organization led the coalition supporting the legislation, called the law one of the strongest state voting rights acts in the country.
But, he added, the celebration should not be mistaken for the end of the effort.
“The work is not finished,” Haygood said. “There’s more good trouble to get into.”
A church filled with history
From the opening prayer to the closing hymn, speakers repeatedly connected the day’s celebration to the churches that served as gathering places during the Civil Rights Movement.
Union Baptist Church Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Simeon Spencer opened the ceremony by recalling Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, where marchers gathered before crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, and said it was fitting that New Jersey’s celebration of the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act would take place in a house of worship.
Following the closing prayer, attendees left their seats and joined hands throughout the sanctuary as the church filled with the familiar words of We Shall Overcome – honoring the sacrifices of those who fought for voting rights while celebrating New Jersey’s latest effort to protect those rights for future generations.
Related: Gov. Sherrill addresses voter registration questions following voting rights bill ceremony — Read what she said about the recent DMV voter registration issues and implementation of the new law.
