"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is often quoted as saying that 'the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.' That is true -- but it only happens when caring, committed people put their hands on that arc and pull it toward justice. We must be those people."

-- Eric Holder

As AG Holder inferred, justice requires commitment. It is not a passive ideal. It requires rigorous determination. This is important for us to remember in our work to end gerrymandering. Combatting a power structure informed by a prejudiced system, supported by partisan machinery and special interests, is not an easy task. But the obligations of citizenship and day-to-day civic engagement -- reaching for and working to achieve a more perfect democracy and a better nation -- are, indeed, hard work. The legacy of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders has instilled in us a stubborn optimism that this hard work pays off.

We believe that ending the practice of gerrymandering is a critical civil rights battle and is necessary to restore the integrity of our elections.