PRESS RELEASE
Today, the Reverend Randy Kelley, Vice Chair of the Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC), the Black Political Democratic Caucus of Alabama and Vice Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party and Janet May, former member of the SDEC and DNC filed a lawsuit in the United States Middle District Court of Alabama against the outgoing Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Thomas Perez, and others for their role in undermining, diluting, and discriminating against Black Democrats on the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) of Alabama. Kelley and May claim, among other things, a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and Amendments 14 and 15 to the U. S. Constitution and a Consent Decree issued in 1991 in the Case of Hawthorne and Newman vs. Baker. Kelley said, when Whites deserted the Alabama Democratic Party, Blacks embraced it and held it together. After Blacks became a majority of the SDEC, the governing body, Perez joined with Senator Doug Jones and others to weaken Blacks’ influence and give the control of the Alabama Democratic Party to Whites.
For a more detailed understanding of the issues of this case, a narrative setting forth our cause is enclosed to reveal the illegal and unfair acts of Chairman Perez and the ”Occupying Democrats” who have divided the Alabama Democratic Party.