Cover photo by Alejandro Alvarez.
University of Wisconsin environmental studies grad student Kaja Rebane, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, was one ofthe thousands of pro-democracy activists who converged on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in April to protest the outsized influence of money in politics and kick off a movement to reclaim democracy by and for the people. The protests were organized by the Democracy Awakening and Democracy Spring coalition groups.
“I went because I care about having a functioning system of government,” Rebane says. “You can’t have a democracy when you have so much money slopping around.” Rebane was inspired by meeting people from all over the country, many of whom had never participated in a protest before.
Photo by Alejandro Alvarez.
“As the super-rich dominate the ‘money primary’ that decides who can run for office, almost half of the states in the union have passed new laws that disenfranchise everyday voters, especially people of color and the poor,” organizers point out.
Photo by Alejandro Alvarez.
From climate change to income inequality to mass incarceration, “We simply cannot solve the urgent crises that face our nation if we don’t save democracy first,” say protest organizers.
Photo by Jonathan Comer.
Moral Mondays founder and Democracy Awakening member the Reverend William Barber II stirred up the crowd, denouncing North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” and voter ID laws.
Photo by Jonathan Comer.
This will be the first presidential election in fifty years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act, and thirty-three states have passed laws that make it harder to vote.
Photo by Alejandro Alvarez.
On the last day of the protests, Lady Liberty was handcuffed in the largest mass arrest in the history of the Capitol grounds.
