While a pair of recently passed pieces of local legislation await approval by the U.S. Department of Justice, a group of citizens is planning a bit of old-style civil protest to make their voices heard.

The Concerned Citizens for Voting Rights Protection of Fairfield will stage a march on the Fairfield County Courthouse Wednesday evening, where speakers will lay out their opposition to the bills. The march will begin on the corner of Lady and Main streets at 6 p.m.

“This all stems from the two bills Rep. Boyd Brown and Sen. Creighton Coleman have filed with the Justice Department,” said County Councilman Kamau Marcharia, a key member of the group. “We see that as a violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.”

The bills, which overcame a gubernatorial veto earlier this month, appoint two additional members to the Fairfield County School Board and create an independent finance committee to take over the district's fiscal responsibilities. The committee, as well as the new board members, would be appointed by Coleman and Brown.

The bills are currently under review by the Justice Department.

“Appointments are typically racially imbalanced,” Marcharia said. “When appointments happen, great disparity and discrimination occurs. And while some of the appointees might have black skin, they may not have the right mind set.”

Marcharia noted that the march was not about support for the school district, which he admitted has problems, but was instead about protecting the right of citizens to vote.

“It’s not about the school,” he said. “I don’t think you can legislate away the problems of our school system. I believe it’s a question of democracy, which I think works better from the ground up rather than from the top down.”

Marcharia said the group organizing the march is a collection of citizens from across the county and that he is expecting a healthy turnout.

“We need to send a clear message to the Justice Department,” he said, “that we’re not going to tolerate encroachment of our rights in this day and age.”