Free the Vote is a documentary that depicts the past and present of just how unjust and racist it is to deny the right to vote to millions of people who are incarcerated.
Dating back to the racist Jim Crow Era, felony disfranchisement laws were created in the states after the Civil War as an intentional effort to weaken the political power of Black people who had been enslaved. That time was also when the abominable effort began to incarcerate Black people who were newly freed.
Black Marylanders account for over 13,000 of the nearly 18,000 Marylanders who are disenfranchised in Maryland. That means Black people make up 72% of those impacted by felony disenfranchisement laws in Maryland. This did not happen by accident.
Listen to people who were formerly incarcerated, who are currently incarcerated, politicians, and advocates who share their experience and dreams of a Maryland and country where the right to vote is restored for every citizen who is currently incarcerated.
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