Desmond Meade, a voting rights activist and the President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, delivered a powerful TedTalk on the importance of the right to vote in his speech titled “We the People and the Right to Vote.” Meade shared his personal journey from being a formerly incarcerated individual to becoming a leading advocate for restoring the voting rights of ex-felons in Florida.
He highlighted the historical context of voting rights in America and the systemic barriers that have disproportionately disenfranchised communities of color and low-income individuals. Meade stressed the transformative power of voting and how it can shape policies and laws that impact the lives of all citizens.
Through his inspiring message, Meade called for a united effort to protect and expand voting rights for all Americans, emphasizing that democracy only thrives when all voices are heard. Viewers were left with a call to action to stand up for the right to vote and ensure that every citizen has a voice in shaping the future of our country.
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Author Video Description
Civil rights activist Desmond Meade shares his journey to empower communities and highlight how every citizen has the power to inspire meaningful change. Fireside chat moderated by Hope McMath, founder and director of Yellow House, an organization that works at the intersection of art, civic engagement, and social justice. Desmond Meade is a formerly homeless returning citizen who overcame many obstacles to eventually become the President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, a graduate of Florida International University College of Law, a Ford Global Fellow, and a 2021 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow.
As President and Executive Director of FRRC, which is recognized for its work on voting and criminal justice reform issues, Desmond led the FRRC to a historic victory in 2018 with the successful passage of Amendment 4, a grassroots citizen’s initiative which restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions. Amendment 4 represented the single largest expansion of voting rights in the United States in half a century and brought an end to 150 years of a Jim Crow-era law in Florida. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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Video “We the People and the Right to Vote? | Desmond Meade | TEDxJacksonville” was uploaded on 03/17/2025 to Youtube Channel TEDx Talks