Demos

60 Years Later, the Voting Rights Act Needs to Be Revived and Paired With a Bold Economic Agenda | Demos On the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we honor those who strived for that victory by defending its true legacy—one that demands not just political participation, but economic justice too.

Today, on the VRA’s 60th anniversary, we honor those who strived for that victory by defending its true legacy—one that demands not just political participation, but economic justice as well. #VRA60 bit.ly/4liWY6C

Three years after the #VotingRightsAct passed, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that it only represented a step toward equality—not the finish line: “Now our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality.”

In our latest blog, we examine the ongoing threats to voting rights and argue that reform is needed not just to fulfill the promise of the VRA, but also to advance a broader vision of economic justice and people power. bit.ly/4liWY6C

60 Years Later, the Voting Rights Act Needs to Be Revived and Paired With a Bold Economic Agenda | Demos On the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we honor those who strived for that victory by defending its true legacy—one that demands not just political participation, but economic justice too.

For 60 years, the #VotingRightsAct (VRA) has represented a transformative milestone for the Civil Rights movement and American democracy.

Taifa Smith Butler of Demos, smiling, seated against a background with her quote "Trump’s attack on the BLS and, more broadly, on facts, isn’t just a threat to our economy. His actions mark another step closer to authoritarianism. The president has once again politicized an apolitical institution and, in doing so, sent a signal that he will punish anyone who seeks to hold him and his administration to account by telling the truth about his damaging policies."

Firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for simply doing her job sets a dangerous precedent for our nation. Data are facts, whether they serve one's political aspirations or not. Our full statement: bit.ly/3HgXZ18

Protecting Our Democracy: The Urgent Need for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act | Demos As states impose new voter suppression tactics, the push for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is crucial to ensure equal voting rights for all.

The late Congressman John Lewis once called our vote “the most powerful nonviolent tool in our democracy.” Named in his honor, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act envisions an equal playing field for all: www.demos.org/policy-brief...

Watch: Warnock, Durbin reintroduce voting rights bill named for John Lewis Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) are set to reintroduce the Senate version of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025, which would replace the 1965 Voting …

As undemocratic forces fight tooth and nail to restrict voters’ access to the ballot box, the reintroduced John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act can help ensure full, unfettered access to political participation for Black and brown voters. bit.ly/4lcHWPI

Voter Purge Legislative Resource Guide | Demos This resource guide is intended to help advocates and local leaders make common-sense improvements to current voter removal practices and oppose bad bills that limit access to the ballot.

Here’s how advocates can fight back: www.demos.org/research/vot...

North Carolina-Trump DOJ Voter Purge Plan Is Illegal, Democrats Warn Read more here.

Mass voter purges, or the improper cancellation of voter registrations, systematically deny people the right to participate in elections and make their voices heard.

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Join Our Email List | Demos Join the Demos email list to get the latest updates on our work.

To make our society work for the many, not the few, we must come together to provide real opportunity for all our families, not just the affluent and well-connected. Join us: www.demos.org/join-our-ema...

Economic and political power are inextricably linked. Therefore, when the mega-wealthy get trillions in tax cuts, as currently proposed by Congressional Republicans, they also gain outsized influence over our democratic institutions.

Reclaiming Our Money, Reclaiming Our Power: Strategy and Solidarity at the Public Banking Convening | Demos In May, Dēmos held a national convening of financial justice leaders to reimagine our financial systems and build community wealth through public banks. These are our top takeaways.

Commercial banks have failed us for generations. It’s time to reclaim our money.

In May, we gathered with financial justice leaders to advance bold strategies for building community wealth through public banks.

Read the key takeaways: bit.ly/3INM77l

Promotional poster for 'The Big Betrayal and How We Fight Forward' event featuring U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Bernie Sanders. The poster is vibrant with graphics of a yellow school bus and megaphones, highlighting community partnership logos such as Community Change, National Domestic Workers Alliance, and others. The livestream will occur on July 30 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. URL at the bottom for more information: ppls.ac/fightforward.

🚨TONIGHT at 8pm ET: Build power and fight back.

The Trump Administration just gave billionaires a $300,000 tax break—and slashed Medicaid, housing, and food aid. This is The Big Betrayal.

Join the national livestream to fight forward: www.crowdcast.io/c/fightforwa...

The Reconciliation Bill Is a Brazen Betrayal of Present and Future Generations | Demos The passage of the inaptly named “One Big Beautiful Bill” is a loss for the country, not just because of immediate cost and economic harm it will cause families but because of the future we’re giving ...

Big Beautiful Bill? More like a brazen betrayal of the American people. In our latest, we break down what this bill actually means for everyday families: www.demos.org/blog/reconci...

The text says "191 Days. On average, Black women need to work 191 days into the new year to earn what white men made in the previous year." The image is of someone writing in a journal with dollar signs on a background behind them.

Today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day, the day Black women's wages catch up to what white men earned in 2024.
This isn't just a pay gap—it's a power gap. Economic security for all means ensuring Black women earn a thriving wage without having to work extra months to catch up.

There Has Never Been a Better Year to Mark the Anniversary of the 14th Amendment | Demos This anniversary provides an opportunity for us to reacquaint ourselves with their history and to recommit ourselves to the work of ensuring their enforcement.

History shows us: When government overreaches, the people don't just resist—they demand & WIN new legal structures that expand freedom. The work is already underway in grassroots communities.

More expansive rights for all are always possible, together.
demos.nyc/14th-amendment

These attacks aren't unprecedented—they're the latest chapter in a long history of attempts to hollow out the amendment's protections. Each era has brought new threats —but also new forms of resistance.

Today, we're seeing direct attacks on birthright citizenship, due process violations in immigrant detention, and equal protection weaponized to consolidate privilege rather than protect against discrimination.

The Amendment radically expanded freedom after the Civil War—overturning Dred Scott and the three-fifths compromise. But from Day 1, these promises faced systematic attacks: Black Codes, exclusion of Indigenous Americans, anti-Asian racism, and Jim Crow laws, as some examples.

There Has Never Been a Better Year to Mark the Anniversary of the 14th Amendment | Demos This anniversary provides an opportunity for us to reacquaint ourselves with their history and to recommit ourselves to the work of ensuring their enforcement.

🧵157 years ago today: the 14th Amendment became law, promising birthright citizenship, due process, & equal protection for all. It's been under threat ever since.

Our latest explains why this anniversary matters and the hope we can find in its history. demos.nyc/14th-amendment

Our Prime Wish List for Amazon Workers: Fair wages, an end to surveillance practices, safe work conditions

Lightning‑fast delivery comes at a hefty price, and Amazon workers are paying it.

As Amazon celebrates #PrimeDay, here’s our wish list for its workers:

"North Carolina’s Missing Voters” with Phi Nguyen of Demos and Sarah Ovaska of the SCSJ • NC Newsline More than 1.5 million North Carolinians are considered “missing voters,” individuals who are eligible to vote but either aren’t registered to vote or aren’t participating in elections, according to “N...

There are 1.5M “missing” voters in North Carolina, people who are eligible to vote but don’t, because NC has designed its voting system to discourage them from doing so.

We joined @scsjofficial.bsky.social for an interview with NC Newsline to explain our findings: ncnewsline.com/2025/07/07/n...

In Budget that Will Hurt Millions of Everyday Americans, Republicans Show Who They’re Working For | Demos "These cuts to lifesaving safety net programs and critical infrastructure, are not meant to improve the lives of everyday Americans, but instead to subsidize tax giveaways for the wealthiest elite."

BREAKING: President Trump has signed the budget reconciliation bill. Make no mistake, this will have a catastrophic impact on working families.

Our statement: www.demos.org/press-releas...

Distributional Effects of Selected Provisions of the House and Senate Reconciliation Bills

The House just passed a GOP-led budget bill that will take $600 in income from the lowest 20% of earners while giving the top 1% an extra $97K. Big donors fund campaigns, reap massive returns, and working families pay the price. This is money in politics at work.
budgetlab.yale.edu/research/dis...

The Senate chose billionaire donors over working families yesterday, passing a tax bill with massive breaks for the wealthy while slashing essential services. This is what happens when money buys influence – policies benefiting the few, especially harming Black & brown communities.

#OnThisDay in 1964, the Civil Rights Act became law after years of organizing—outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. 61 years later, as protections face new threats, we're reminded that progress isn't permanent. The work continues.

The GOP's big ugly budget will harm working families, business owners, seniors, college students, rural communities, and young children.

And guess who will it help?

Billionaires.

Every American should be against this deadly and dangerous bill.

7/7 To be explicit, this administration's hostility toward citizenship, voting rights, and democracy itself couldn't be clearer. We won't let them divide us or silence our communities.

6/7 (2) Regardless, the birthright citizenship executive order cannot go into effect before July 27. We can likely expect more legal challenges to the executive order before then.

5/7 What happens next in this case is not totally clear. But we do know two things: (1) The lower court judges who universally blocked the birthright citizenship EO must revisit their injunctions and assess whether they must make them narrower.