“Voting Rights: The Struggle To Be Counted 1619-2014” is a 35-minute film documentary, written and produced by Phil and narrated by his wife Pat Sloan. Through words, music, and vivid images, he tells the story of the historic, courageous and often brutal struggle by African Americans to obtain the unrestricted right to vote. Phil’s film begins with a moving pictorial tribute to Rep. John “Good Trouble” Lewis.
“Voting Rights: The Struggle To Be Counted” is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 25, 2013, 5-4 decision in the Shelby vs Holder Voting Right case which struck down Sections 4-5 of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act which has led to the enactment of voter suppression laws that deny millions of our citizens of color the right to vote to this very day.
Frederick Douglass, the great abolitionist, orator, and newspaper publisher once said, “slavery is not abolished until the black man has the right to vote”. THIS IS THE CORNERSTONE OF EQUALITY.
This is a story that all Americans need to know, but especially African Americans who continue to have their vote suppressed and denied by enemies of justice who view voting as a privilege for a few, and not a right for ALL. REMEMBER, A VOTELESS PEOPLE IS A VOICELESS PEOPLE!
Phil Portlock is a photographer, writer, film documentary producer, social justice activist, native Washingtonian. He began his photography/social justice career in 1968 after seeing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preach his last Sunday sermon on Sunday, March 31, 1968, at Washington, DC’s National Cathedral, less than a week before his death in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.
“STAND UP ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2026, AND LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD,
“No Kings: Vote Early events are nonpartisan and are designed to increase participation from all eligible voters.
A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.”