Trending Now - Bus Riders Honor History in Ongoing Voting Rights Battle

WHO:

NPR - Keith Odom, a 62-year-old union man and grandfather of three, participated in the march.

NPR - Justice Washington, a Kennesaw State University student, attended the event.

NPR - Kobe Chernushin, an 18-year-old organizer with the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, was present.

NPR - Darrin Owens, a 27-year-old who has worked for former Vice President Kamala Harris, attended the rally.

NPR - Phi Nguyen, a civil rights lawyer, and her sister Bee, a former member of the Georgia General Assembly, participated in the event.

NPR - Carole Burton and Tondalaire Ashford, 72-year-old Montgomery residents and friends since childhood, were also present.

WHAT:

NPR - The "All Roads Lead to the South" rally was the first mass organizing response after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana.

NPR - The Supreme Court's ruling concluded in a 6-3 decision that considering race when drawing political lines is discriminatory, prompting states like Alabama to redraw U.S. House districts.

NPR - Activists retraced the steps of the 1965 voting rights march in Montgomery, Alabama.

NPR - The event was titled "All Roads Lead to the South" and served as a mass organizing response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

NPR - The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that considering race when drawing political lines is discriminatory, affecting majority Black congressional districts.

NPR - The proposed federal election overhaul is named after John Lewis, who was bloodied on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

WHERE:

NPR - The march concluded on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama.

NPR - The buses launched from a congressional district in Georgia once represented by John Lewis.

WHEN:

NPR - The event took place on a Saturday, with no specific date mentioned.

NPR - The Voting Rights Act became law in 1965.

WHY:

NPR - The rally aimed to renew the fight for voting rights in response to the Supreme Court ruling that diminished the Voting Rights Act.

NPR - Odom expressed a desire to move forward for the sake of his grandchildren.

HOW:

NPR - The buses and sandwich lunches for the event were arranged by Fair Fight Action, a political network founded by Stacey Abrams, who has run for governor in 2018 and 2022.

NPR - The buses and sandwich lunches for the event were arranged by Fair Fight Action, a political network founded by Stacey Abrams.

(UPDATED May 18, 2026 17:43 UTC)

The "All Roads Lead to the South" rally marked the first major response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana. In a 6-3 decision, the Court determined that considering race when drawing political lines is discriminatory, leading states like Alabama to begin redrawing their U.S. House districts. The event was organized by Fair Fight Action, a political network founded by Stacey Abrams, who has previously run for governor in 2018 and 2022, with buses and sandwich lunches provided for attendees.

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(UPDATED May 18, 2026 06:19 UTC)

Activists gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, to retrace the steps of the historic 1965 voting rights march, responding to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed the consideration of race in drawing political lines as discriminatory. The event, titled "All Roads Lead to the South," featured a diverse group of participants, including 62-year-old union man Keith Odom and 18-year-old organizer Kobe Chernushin, and concluded on Dexter Avenue, where buses had launched from a congressional district once represented by John Lewis. The rally, organized by Fair Fight Action, aimed to reignite the fight for voting rights, with Odom emphasizing the importance of this cause for future generations, including his grandchildren.