SPOKANE, Wash. — Friday is National Black Voters Day and members of the Spokane community wanted to stress that every vote matters.
It wasn’t until 1965 that the Voting Rights Act was passed and racial discrimination was prohibited in the voting process, a long-sought fight by many black Americans.
Over the years, the amount of black voters have slowly risen, according to Pew research.
“Your vote counts and it matters,” said Latrice Williams, the owner of Vision Properties. “This is something that Sandy taught me a long time ago.”
Sandy Williams was a beloved Spokane activist that passed away in 2022.
In terms of the next election, community members are more focused than ever on sentence reform.
“The importance of representation is being able to know who is in there fighting for you and your causes and and what and what it looks like” said Spokane native Teresa Brooks.
Both Williams and Brooks stressed the importance of going out and voting this election day.
“Get y’all tails to the polls, you know what time it is,” Williams said. “We need you.”