The letter, which was initially addressed only to Biden and Senate Democrats but was later widened to become an appeal to the entire chamber, comes as civil rights leaders and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are increasing pressure on the Biden administration to pass voting rights legislation after Republicans blocked two Democratic-led measures.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat, returned to Washington on Wednesday to hold an emergency meeting with fellow caucus members, a source familiar with planning the meeting told CNN.
Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, organized the letter along with several faith organizations. The African American Christian Clergy Coalition, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action and Faith in Public Life are among the organizers.
The faith leaders who signed the letter come from Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions, including the Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin Sr. of the Washington National Cathedral, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg of National Council of Jewish Women and Rabbi Charles Kroloff, past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
‘This relic has to go’
“We believe the filibuster has to be abolished,” King told CNN, adding that it has been used to block key measures such as the anti–lynching legislation and civil rights legislation. “This relic has to go. It is really unfortunate that we have to have this discussion this time. … This should have already been done.”
Sinema, who says she supports both bills, also backs the rule “to protect the country from repeated radical reversals in federal policy which would cement uncertainty, deepen divisions, and further erode Americans’ confidence in our government,” her spokesman John LaBombard said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York spoke about passing a voting rights bill next year while on a private caucus call with fellow Democrats Tuesday night and said that “the bedrock of our democracy — free and fair elections — is at stake,” a Democratic source told CNN.
“We must — for the sake of our democracy — make it so that the Senate can debate and reach final conclusion on voting rights legislation this Congress. And soon,” Schumer said, according to the source.
“We’re going to keep up the fight until we get it done, and you’re going to keep up the fight, and we need your help badly,” he said at the commencement ceremony at the historically Black university.
A message deeper than voting rights
As Biden and other Democrats vow to keep fighting for voting rights, faith leaders say lawmakers must do more than make promises. The Kings believe the President and Congress must put forth a full effort in order for there to be victory on voting rights legislation.
“We’ve seen what happens when the White House and Congress put their full power and effort behind something that they support. We’ve seen it with the infrastructure bill,” Arndrea Waters King told CNN, adding that’s why they and other activists will cross symbolic bridges on MLK Day weekend. “We’re crossing these bridges physically to say that you stood for bridges, now it’s time to stand for the people.”
Dr. Stephany Spaulding, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said the letter sends another message besides protecting voting rights.
“Deeper than that is the reality that we can no longer continue to exploit the lives and the pain of our communities,” Spaulding told CNN. “Every two to four years we see politicians coming to sacred space, to our congregations, and making promises to our members and saying how life in this realm is going to get better for our congregations and members. And then we end up in moments like this, where we are on the brink of tremendous failure.”
She continued, “As sacred as our trust in them as politicians is, it’s also sacred for them to uphold the righteousness of which they speak.”
This story has been updated to reflect the letter’s release and its distribution to the entire US Senate.
CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi, Sam Fossum, Eva McKend, Lauren Fox and Manu Raju contributed to this report.