卡萨布兰卡

In 1963, just as Martin Luther King Jr. and the other “Big Six” civil rights leaders were in the final stages of planning the March on Washington, my mother, Sybil Haydel Morial, incorporated the Louisiana League of Good Government, a nonprofit created to help African Americans overcome deterrents to voting such as literacy tests.

She’d been banned from joining the Louisiana branch of the League of Women Voters because of her race. “That shut door was an epiphany for me,” she wrote in her memoir, “Witness to Change: From Jim Crow to Political Empowerment.” Rather than be deterred, she devoted herself to preparing Black New Orleanians for Louisiana’s nearly-impossible literacy test.

Registrars – who were all white – had wide latitude in determining who passed or failed such tests, and they used their authority to fail most Black applicants, thereby keeping them from voting. Ironically, one of the tests required applicants to read the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, intended to “establish Justice” and “secure the Blessings of Liberty,” in the words of the Founding Fathers who authored them nearly two centuries earlier.

But in Louisiana, in 1963, justice and liberty still were reserved mostly for white people.

On the very day that civil rights activist Medgar Evers was gunned down in his own driveway in Jackson, Mississippi, in June of 1963, my mother picked up the phone to hear, “Morial is going to get what that [racial slur] in Mississippi got.” We had been receiving threatening calls ever since my father, Ernest “Dutch” Morial,” had assumed the presidency of the NAACP in New Orleans (and later the first Black mayor of the city). But after that threatening phone call, my parents took extra precautions: My father would blast his car horn when he pulled up to the house each night, and my mother would flash the carport light several times, all to scare off would-be assassins.

The voting rights struggle of my parents’ generation was a steep uphill climb, but as the years went by, they saw barrier after barrier fall, from the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision (where the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional) to the Civil Rights Act to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Now, 60 years after the March on Washington, we are seeing many of those same barriers – and new ones – rise up once again.

My parents fought Jim Crow, who used bogus literacy tests and threats of violence to keep Black Americans from the voting booth.

By the time I assumed leadership of the National Urban League in 2003, our adversary was James Crow, Esq., who used racial gerrymandering to dilute the political voices of Black Americans.

Today, we are battling Jimmy Crow, who wants to disregard the results of elections entirely.

The current assault on voting rights is a direct response to the rising influence of the Black vote since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As we noted in last year’s State of Black America report, which was subtitled “Under Siege: The Plot to Destroy Democracy,” an anti-democracy wave began to rise after record-high Black voting rates in 2008 and crested with the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder to gut the Voting Rights Act. Now, that wave has broken against “The Big Lie,” the relentless campaign to invalidate the free, fair and validated results of the 2020 election. Those who marched in 1963 were fighting for their right to participate in democracy. Those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were fighting to obliterate democracy.

So far, in 2023 alone, state lawmakers have introduced at least 323 bills to restrict the vote in 45 states. At least 13 of these bills, in 11 states, have passed into law. Even more alarming is the rise of election interference legislation, which would allow partisan interference in the election process. At least 78 bills have been introduced this year in 20 states that would make it easier to, for example, criminally prosecute election officials for simply doing their jobs, set up bogus partisan “review” procedures, or prohibit the use of machines to count ballots for any election. At least four states already have passed such laws.

The campaign to exclude Black Americans from the democratic process is gradually being supplanted with a campaign to eliminate the democratic process altogether.

Earlier this summer, with its decision in Moore v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the “independent state legislature theory” that extremists have pushed in order to give state legislatures free rein to gerrymander electoral maps and suppress voters of color – and to give cover to their sinister efforts to overturn elections.

Still, the court’s decision is unlikely to deter these extremists, who are intent on returning a man to the White House who faces numerous indictments for attempting to invalidate the results of the 2020 election. If those forces succeed, the two-century moral arc that has bent slowly, if unevenly, toward universal suffrage could come to an end.

“石马”是展示石家庄城市形象的一张亮丽名片！体育是城市活力的鲜明底色，更是赋能城市高质量发展的重要力量。近年来，石家庄市坚持以赛为媒、以赛为窗，全力打造城市体育赛事IP，精心培育了石家庄马拉松以及“庄超”“庄篮”“正定乒乓”等一系列特色品牌赛事，让体育赛事成为推动全民健身、彰显城市魅力、激活城市消费的重要载体。石家庄马拉松赛作为石家庄市最具影响力、最具辨识度的精品赛事之一，历经多年的精心培育和社会各界的大力支持，已经成为展示石家庄城市形象的一张亮丽名片。一、在“常跑常新”中，领略蝶变石家庄的时代风采2026年“石马”赛道延续去年线路，“宽、平、直”是其最大特色，折返少、起伏低，抵达便利、一马平川，既能让专业跑友充分发挥竞技水平，也能让大众跑者尽情挥洒汗水、享受奔跑乐趣。赛道不变，体验升级，经典地标，焕新绽放。赛道沿线城市更新持续深化，街区风貌迭代升级，景观品质不断提升，一步一景、一处一韵，每一段路程都镌刻着石家庄的奋进足迹，每一处风景都彰显着城市的时代风华。届时，来自海内外的35000名跑友，将从解放广场启程，穿越五个城区、两大主干道，途经正太广场、湾里庙商圈、裕西公园、河北省艺术中心、河北博物院、复兴大街、火炬广场等一系列城市地标。42.195公里赛道，不仅是一场耐力与毅力的比拼，更是展现石家庄发展变迁的城市长卷。广大跑友在奔跑中，可以重温城市历史的经典记忆，感受城市更新的澎湃活力，尽享这座城市向上生长、向美而生的气象万千。二、在“爱心相伴”中，感受活力石家庄的热情满满石家庄市连续2年入选“最具幸福感城市”，连续3年入选“活力之城案例”，运动基因早已融入城市血脉，活力气息随着“石马”热度，浸润城市的每一个角落，成为这座城市最鲜明的气质标签。为了更好地提升广大跑友体验感，石家庄将聚焦竞赛组织、志愿服务、医疗救助、治安维护、交通保障等各个环节，全力以赴做好组织筹备工作，全方位提升赛事的服务与保障，确保赛事精彩、安全、圆满。

C | 科学优化交通组织和出行引导，完善公共交通接驳服务，及时发布出行提示，最大限度减少对市民日常出行的影响，实现赛事精彩呈现与城市有序运行的协调统一。精心组织“全民助威”活动，发动广大市民迈出家门、走上街头，为跑友加油呐喊，为“石马”喝彩助威，让赛道沿线处处有掌声、时时有温暖、处处有力量，让每一位选手在奔跑中收获温暖、汲取力量、留下感动，深切感受到这座城市的热情与陪伴、活力与自信。三、在“跨界融合”中，畅享精彩石家庄的无限可能体育赛事是城市流量的重要入口，更是活跃消费、拉动增长的强劲引擎。2025石家庄马拉松赛成功带动餐饮、住宿、交通、旅游、娱乐等相关产业消费达3.89亿元，充分彰显了“体育+”的融合赋能效应，为城市高质量发展注入了强劲动力。为更好地承接马拉松赛事流量，充分释放赛事价值，君乐宝2026石家庄马拉松赛将继续举办马拉松博览会，推出“‘石马’嘉年华”活动，升级“跟着‘石马’去旅行”活动，推动赛事与文旅、商业、数字传播等多业态、多场景深度融合，切实把赛事聚集的人气，转化为城市消费的活力、产业发展的动力，让更多人通过“石马”了解石家庄、走进石家庄、爱上石家庄。特别是在马拉松博览会期间，将专设中希马拉松文化交流活动，旨在深化东西方文明的交流互鉴，赋予赛事更深厚的文化内涵，进一步提升其国际化视野与国际影响力。君乐宝2026石家庄马拉松赛，是向全球跑友发出的诚挚邀请。热忱期待和欢迎全球跑友及家人、朋友齐聚石家庄，在一路繁花的赛道上挥洒激情与汗水，在燕赵大地的烟火气里感受温暖与美好，在惬意奔跑中见证城市发展、收获成长与感动。本届赛事有关情况介绍一是以奔跑之名，汇聚四海跑友。近年来，石家庄马拉松赛始终保持着高人气、高关注、高口碑，成为广大跑友心中极具吸引力和辨识度的品牌赛事。君乐宝2026石家庄马拉松赛设置马拉松、半程马拉松两大项目，总规模35000人，其中马拉松项目17000人、半程马拉松项目18000人。作为2026年中国北方地区首场马拉松赛事，本届“石马”自启动报名以来，得到海内外跑友的热烈响应，总报名人数突破20万，比去年增长了一倍。参赛选手覆盖全国各省、自治区、直辖市以及港澳台地区，其中省外选手24150人，占比69%；省内选手10850人，占比31%。同时吸引了来自新加坡、日本、美国、加拿大、埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚等35个国家的外籍选手参赛。一组组亮眼数据，印证的是“石马”不断攀升的品牌影响力；一次次踊跃报名的火爆场景，彰显的是石家庄日益增强的城市吸引力。二是以全民共享，点燃一城期待。“石马”不仅是跑者挑战自我的竞技舞台，也是全城参与、全民共享的体育节日。本届赛事进一步拓展参与半径，扩大群众参与面，丰富赛前活动和赛中互动场景，组织开展训练营、亲子跑、赛道展演等系列内容，把赛事氛围从比赛日延伸到赛前赛后，把参与主体从参赛跑者拓展到广大市民，让更多人走进“石马”、融入“石马”、成为“石马”的一部分，让全民健身在更广范围内“动起来”“热起来”“燃起来”。

D | 三是以赛事为媒，奏响城市合鸣。一场高水平的马拉松，既是城市的体育盛事，也是拉动消费、激发活力的流量入口。体育的活力，正在不断转化为城市的动力；赛事的人气，正在不断转化为消费的热气。君乐宝2026石家庄马拉松赛将继续强化“体育+文旅+商业”联动，放大赛事综合带动效应。

E | 通过举办马拉松博览会、打造主题消费场景、联动市文化广电和旅游局推出“跟着‘石马’去旅行”主题线路，不断延伸消费链条。3月26日至28日，将在河北博物院北广场升级打造马拉松博览会，举办集赛事服务、品牌展示、消费体验、非遗互动等于一体的城市盛宴。在大家领装备、看展陈、品特色一站式体验的火热场景中，让体育连接商业、用活动带火文旅、以IP放大价值，将本届赛事打造成跑者的狂欢、体育的盛会、城市的节日。四是以精细服务，焕新赛道体验。本届赛事将持续优化赛事组织、补给服务、完赛服务等关键环节，围绕“宠粉”做文章，围绕“体验”下功夫，围绕“口碑”求突破。携手河北机场管理集团，联动石家庄机场、秦皇岛机场、承德机场、张家口机场推出专属福利，参赛选手还可以享受石家庄机场往返大巴免费乘坐等暖心礼遇。马拉松博览会期间，推出特色美食免费品鉴、专业定妆照免费拍摄等贴心服务。比赛当日，选手凭号码布可免费乘坐地铁、公交等公共交通。赛事冠名商君乐宝乳业集团特邀奥运冠军、君乐宝品牌全球代言人、马拉松传奇人物基普乔格现场助阵，在赛道沿线的君乐宝助威台为跑友们加油助威，与广大跑者和市民朋友相聚石家庄、共赴马拉松之约。沿线“燃城计划”全面升级，“Rock Home Town”音乐加油站激情开唱、全民健身展演轮番上阵、市民百团方阵热烈助威，真正实现“街道是看台、转角成舞台、城市即赛场”，整座城市将化身跑友们的“最强后援团”。五是以温情守护，护航赛道梦想。

F | 安全是赛事的底线，本届赛事始终把安全放在首位，构建全方位、立体化、高密度的保障体系，把每一处安全细节织进“放心网”。在安全保障方面，坚持系统谋划、周密部署，织密赛事安全网络；在医疗救护方面，配置包括救护车、定点医院、专业医护、医疗跑者、医疗站辅助志愿者、急救跑者、终点观察岗、赛后功能区巡视员等在内的应急救援体系，提升快速响应和现场处置能力；在志愿服务方面，将组织包括驻石高校、社会公益组织、辖区志愿者在内的6000余名专业、热情、规范的志愿服务团队，为赛事提供全流程服务支持。石家庄将以最大的努力、最实的举措，为赛事保驾护航，让每一位跑友安心参赛、放心奔跑。

G |