A New South Is Rising: The People Came Because They Heard the Call

Saturday's "All Roads Lead to the South" march for voting rights "was not a one-off," writes LaTosha Brown. "This was the spark. We are calling this our summer of freedom and liberation."

May 18, 2026

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Marchers walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Saturday, May 16. (Courtesy of Black Voters Matter)

We made the call, and the people came.

In six days. Six days between the moment we decided this nation needed a sacred gathering and the morning thousands of us stood together on the soil of Selma and Montgomery. The people came not because th…

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A guest post by

LaTosha Brown

LaTosha Brown is a social justice activist, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, and founder of Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. A Glamour Woman of the Year and Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree, she’s also a musician and playwright.