The story of an extraordinaryexpansion of voting rights and the obstacles holding back its implementation
WhenFlorida citizens voted in 2018 to pass Amendment 4 to the state constitution, whichpromised to restore voting rights to people with past felony convictions, thedecision was celebrated as a civil rights victory and the nation’s largestexpansion of voting rights in almost 50 years. In Just Freedom, DanielRivero details the advocacy and action that led to this moment—and shows whatwent wrong in the years after the amendment’s passing.
Thestory begins in the Reconstruction era with Florida’s 1868 lifetime voting banfor people with past felony convictions. The infamous 2000 Bush/Gore electionbrought the ban to national attention, sparking a wave of activism against it. Riverofollows the 18-year path to Amendment 4 through the grassroots work of peopleincluding Howard Simon of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida andDesmond Meade, a formerly incarcerated man and president of the Florida RightsRestoration Coalition.
Ajournalist who has covered this story for many years, Rivero uses courtdocuments, meeting transcripts, archival videos, interviews, and eyewitness courtroomscenes and street marches to peel back the layers and reveal the motives that supportedand opposed this human rights initiative. He shows how political polarization,implementation challenges, and monetary interests have stalled the amendmentfrom becoming fully realized to this day.
Atonce a contemporary legal tale and a series of interwoven stories of people atthe center of the fight, this is the account of how 1.4 million Floridians gainedthe right to vote—and the obstacles still preventing them from doing so. JustFreedom will raise questions and provoke conversations about the lastinghold of Jim Crow–era policies, the power of money, and the nature of theAmerican criminal justice system.
Avolume in the series Government and Politics in the South, edited by Sharon D.Wright Austin and Angela K. Lewis-Maddox This book tells the story of the fight to restore voting rights to people with past felony convictions in Florida. Daniel Rivero details the advocacy and action that helped 1.4 million people gain the right to vote—and the obstacles still preventing them from doing so.
