Re “NAACP 860-mile ‘Journey for Justice’ to stop in Richmond,” Sept. 3-5 edition:

Virginia has come a long way since Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy in the 1860s.

A student-led strike at a Virginia high school played a significant role in ending segregated “separate but equal” schools throughout the nation. The restoration of voting rights to ex-felons has given access to the ballot box back to thousands of Virginians.

But there are still huge barriers to voting in Virginia threatening the hope for real democracy and good policy for the state. That’s why the NAACP is marching through the state on “America’s Journey for Justice” this summer, showing that our lives, our votes, our jobs and our schools matter.

Many Virginians who lack access to the ballot box also lack access to clean air, clean water and protection from climate disruption, and that is why the Sierra Club is proud to join the NAACP in this Journey for Justice.

In the last couple of years, Virginia’s General Assembly and Board of Elections have made voter ID requirements more stringent, mirroring a pattern of discrimination across the country that suppresses the votes of minorities, the elderly, students and the poor.

Some of those same Virginians are disproportionately affected by environmental challenges. For example, evidence shows how climate disruption disproportionately affects African-American communities, particularly when it comes to public health.

Virginians also might be surprised to know that Hampton Roads is the second most vulnerable area to storm surge and sea level rise after New Orleans. Northern Virginia and Richmond also are hotbeds for smog, a harmful pollutant that causes asthma attacks and worsens respiratory diseases.

African-Americans are more likely to live in cities with the worst smog, increasing the likelihood of health problems like asthma attacks. In fact, Richmond holds the No. 2 spot in the country for asthma in 2015 after several years of earning the moniker as the asthma capital in the country.

To address the injustices that everyone faces, we need everyone. When our voices are silenced by attacks on the ballot box, our democracy suffers, and so does our ability to address big issues like the climate crisis’ effects on Virginians and the Clean Power Plan.

That’s why we’re marching together this summer. We’re nearing the end of the Journey for Justice, an 864-mile march from Selma, Ala., to Washington, D.C., but it won’t end there.

Throughout the march, we are engaging in teach-ins, rallies and other events to raise awareness of racial injustice and call on decision-makers for a national agenda that protects the right of every American to uncorrupted and unfettered access to the ballot box, to a fair criminal justice system, to sustainable jobs with a living wage and to equitable public education.

Our hope is that in our wake, these Southern states will approve reform that lasts and works for democracy that’s truly of, by and for all people.

As the Journey for Justice continues, all Virginians who care about a fair and equitable society and healthy communities are encouraged to march, learn and grow with us.

CARMEN TAYLOR

Hampton

GLEN BESA

Richmond

Ms. Taylor is the president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP. Mr. Besa is director of the Sierra Club-Virginia.