Legendary Black radio host Joe Madison is two weeks into a hunger strike that could become a risk to his health. Madison, 72, is doing it for one reason: To pressure President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress to pass voting rights legislation as the GOP actively works to restrict ballot access.
As Madison told CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday, “Just as food is essential for the existence of life, voting is essential for the existence of democracy.”
Madison, a civil rights activist turned SiriusXM radio host who was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2019, is so committed to the cause he is willing to put his life on the line. When I spoke to Madison on my own radio show a few days into his hunger strike, he shared that his wife asked him, “Are you telling me that you are willing to die for this cause?” He said he looked at her and responded with one word: “Yes.” Madison then added passionately, “This is the new civil rights movement.”
