UNTIL ELECTION DAY
November 3, 2020
IN NOV. 2018, AMENDMENT 4 RESTORED VOTING RIGHTS TO 1.4 MILLION.
YET IN AUGUST 2022, FLORIDA BEGAN TO ARREST THOSE RECENTLY CLEARED TO VOTE BY STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS.
"A lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud has not stopped Republicans
from aggressively pursuing it in states where they hold power. "
- New York Times, 10/21/22
WINNER (Audience Favorite) FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL 2018
WINNER (Best Short Documentary) BRONZE LENS FILM FESTIVAL 2018
WINNER (Best Short Documentary) DTLA FILM FESTIVAL 2018
FEATURED in AFI & NBC "MEET THE PRESS" FILM FESTIVAL 2018
WINNER (Best Short Documentary) ORLANDO URBAN FILM FESTIVAL 2019
THE FILM
Let My People Vote Movie. This is the story of one man, Desmond Meade, trying to get voting rights back for all. Filmed in Tampa, 2 days before the 2016 presidential election, this verité short covers a day-in-the-life of civil rights activist, Desmond Meade.
It's Sunday, “Souls to the Polls,” the last day of early voting. Desmond is canvasing door to door.
His mission? Assisting people in voting - something our "forefathers marched and died for."
What begins as an upbeat day of faith in our democratic process, ends with a heartbreaking realization. Jim Crow is not dead.
VOTER DISENFRANCHISEMENT IS REAL IN AMERICA
Voter suppression is one of the painful legacies of hundreds of years of systemic racism. Unless the story is told, it’s not going away. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, we set out to document the first presidential election since a 2013 Supreme Court ruling gutted the Voting Rights Act.
This is what we found. Dr. King would not be pleased.
ABOUT DESMOND MEADE
Desmond Meade is a formerly homeless returning citizen who overcame many obstacles to eventually earn a degree from Florida International University's College of Law.
Although he turned his life around many years ago, Meade was among the 1.7 million former felons in Florida who were barred from the polls for life, even though they had completed all sentencing requirements.
However, disenfranchisement from an old Jim Crow law did not stop Meade from participating in the democratic process. As president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), he helped gather more than one million petition signatures to place Amendment 4, the Second Chances Voting Restoration Amendment, on the Florida ballot November, 2018. The Amendment passed, and Desmond is now a registered voter! However, in June, 2019, things hit an unexpected road block. Florida circumvented the language of Amendment 4, mandating ex-felons to fully pay all court fees and fines before voter registration would be allowed. FRRC is currently helping former felons navigate these additional requirements, with a new outreach program, #wegotthevote.
Desmond was featured in the 2019 Time Magazine "Time 100" list with a forward by Stacey Abrams. In 2020 he received a Ford Global fellowship.
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CONTRIBUTIONS
Artist and Activist, Moby, has generously contributed his latest single entitled "This Wild Darkness" from his latest album "Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt" to the Let My People Vote movie soundtrack.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Michael Cartwright - Jaime Estades, Esq. - Lauren Lexton - Rev. Michael McBride - Autumn Udell
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Gilda Ann Brasch, an award-winning producer and director, tells tales of underdog heroes. She helped produce and direct Oprah Winfrey's ABC primetime special, "Building A Dream," the acclaimed documentary on The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa. Most recently Brasch executive produced five seasons of VH1's hit franchise "Love & Hip Hop."
Inspired after meeting Nelson Mandela in South Africa, and filming in his prison cell of 27 years, Brasch founded VUSI Filmworks with a focus on filmmaking for social change.
For more information regarding sponsoring a virtual screening event of Let My People Vote or to learn about our new documentary, Stronger Than The Bullet, please contact us by filling out the form below.
