Willie Nelson to perform at Texas Capitol voting rights rally this weekend

[Mersky]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Willie-Nelson-to-perform-Saturday-at-Texas-16347406.php

[TexasTowelie]

1. Adding in the text to the article:

(I'm guessing that you are posting from a phone so it isn't easy to copy and paste.)

ountry music legend Willie Nelson will perform Saturday at the Texas Capitol as part of a national voting rights rally that is being spearheaded by Democrats and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke.

The live performance, announced Thursday by rally organizers, will be the 88-year-old’s first since the pandemic hit more than a year ago. It is meant to cap a four-day, 27-mile march by religious leaders and civil rights activists from Georgetown to Austin.

“It is important that we ensure the right for every American to vote and vote safely,” Nelson said in a statement, adding that voting restrictions are “unAmerican” and “intended to punish people of color, the elderly and disabled.”

Organizers are hoping to attract as many as 10,000 people to the event.

[Mersky]

2. Thanks!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Willie Nelson, denouncing election law changes, to play at 'March for Democracy' rally

Willie is an American hero and icon

Link to tweet

Country crooner and pop culture icon Willie Nelson will perform at the Texas Capitol at Saturday’s finale of a four-day march in Central Texas aimed at building support for passage of federal voting protections, organizers said early Thursday.

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In a written statement, Nelson denounced as “unAmerican” the election law proposals advancing in red states, such as GOP-backed measures now pending before each chamber of the Texas Legislature.

“Laws making it more difficult for people to vote are unAmerican and are intended to punish people of color, the elderly and disabled,” said Nelson, a Country Music Hall of Fame honoree and activist.

“Why? If you can’t win playing by the rules, then it’s you and your platform [at fault] — not everyone else’s ability to vote,” he said.

Nelson will perform at the concluding event of the “March for Democracy,” which is asking Congress to pass the For the People Act and to restore portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that the U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated. The march is styled after the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama in March 1965.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Dr. Barber is happy to have Willie play for this event

Link to tweet

[Mersky]

5. K&R!

[Mersky]

6. I walked 9 miles of the march

And lemme tell you, it’s one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had. You’ll be hearing more about it from me.

Forward together! Not one step back!
Forward together! Not one step back!
We are the people! The mighty, mighty people!

I walked with a profoundly good community from all over Texas and the nation. So well organized, smart, and safe. This is what democracy looks like. A peaceful, moral resurrection it is.