...The Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act, was a very important bill passed by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965. The act was passed in order to allow Black African-Americans to vote. One important feature of the VRA, is that it banned literacy tests and put tough restrictions on poll taxes in state elections (Harada). Without this act, plus a couple of other movements, it very well may have been possible that Africans would still be sold into slavery, or simply not treated fairly. Before the Voting Rights Act, African Americans, could not vote. They were generally thrown out of the location of voting, as well as Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans (History). Even after the 15th amendment, which allowed all men,...
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...Voting Rights Act of 1965 In 2013 the US Supreme Court ruled that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was unconstitutional. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been the most powerful piece of civil rights legislation, and guaranteed political representation via popular vote. Moreover, Section 5 specifically necessitated selected areas with a history of voter discrimination to get approval from either the U.S. District Court for D.C. or the U.S. Attorney General before they amending voting processes. This was to preempt any minority voter disenfranchisement through the use of any variety of voting "test," such as a literacy test, educational or knowledge requirements, proof of good moral character, and requirements that a person must be vouched for in order to exercise their right to vote. It has also been updated to protect against the use of gerrymandering, prohibitive voting hours, and abusive ID requirements. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the majority opinion that ruled Section 4(b) as being unconstitutional. He described the Voting Rights Act as "strong medicine" for a time when minority voter disenfranchisement was nation wide. The Census Bureau has since reported that the number of African American voters in five of the nine states listed in the Voting Rights Act actually surpasses white voter turnout. The majority opinion granted that voter discrimination still exists, but questioned whether the laws outlined in Section 4(b) were truly the best means of...
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...The Voting Rights Act of 1965 opened many doors for minorities that were prohibited from voting prior to 1965. During this time LBJ was in office an strived for equality between the sexes and races in terms of voting rights; the act prohibited literacy tests from being implemented during voting periods and allowed certain individuals that were denied registration to register for voting. Although the 15th amendment was in effect, many African Americans were still unable to vote due to denied registration or failing to pass the literacy test given before going to the ballots. Individuals that were in bad economic standings were also denied from voting due to being unable to pay the 1.50-1.75 dollar poll tax. The only individuals allowed to vote freely without any boundaries were men and women that were not of color, had good economic standing,capable of passing the literacy test, and property owners....
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...The voting rights act of 1965 was written into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6th 1965, and it prevented African Americans from using their right to vote under the 15th amendment of the constitution. After the law was passed in 1965 more than 250,000 African Americans were registered to vote. The voting rights act of 1965 prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It helped more minorities be able to vote, the voting rights act came to pass during the civil rights movement. During this time many African Americans were facing many racial and segregating events. Around this time Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had just finished working and helping out in Birmingham, it was brought to his attention of Selma’s lack of voting and equal rights...
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...The Civil Rights Movement was a time where all African Americans wanted equal rights, such as voting, and even sitting on the bus where they wanted. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped outlaw discrimination based on race, color, sex and national origin mainly when it came to voter registration. Voting Act of 1965 authorized the U.S attorney general’s examiners to register qualified voters and get rid of the discrimination practice in areas that had disenfranchised Black voters. The Voting Act of 1965 was a major turning point of the Civil Rights movement. Even though the laws that went into place during the Civil Rights Movement they weren’t followed right away. Some laws only took a week or a month others took years. One law that took place during the Civil Rights Movement that took a while for people to follow was the desegregation of schools. Some schools open their door right away to the African Americans others didn’t. Nine students attended the Little Rock High School, these nine students went through a lot when they first started. The governor had to order the National Guard to escort them into and out of the school for a while because of the violent protests....
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...The 15th amendment to the Constitution granted African-American men the right to vote in 1870. (Marx, 2014) “By 1877 southern white Democrats had overthrown every new state government and established state constitutions that stripped black citizens of their political rights. To circumvent the 14th and 15th amendments, legislators created clever devices that would disenfranchise black citizens for the next 80 years.” (May, 2013) These devices included poll taxes, literacy tests and property requirements among others. They also had to contend with threats of loss of employment and violence. These conditions led to a dramatic decrease in black voters who were deemed eligible, let alone those who were able to actually exercise their right to vote....
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...Have you ever imagined the struggle of African-Americans for basic human rights? The civil rights movement refers to the reform movement in the United States beginning in 1954 to 1968, leading primarily by African-Americans to gain full equal rights and voting rights for black citizens of the United States. There are several reasons cause the civil rights movement and have a few consequences behind. First and foremost, African-Americans were devoid of basic human rights is a reason causes the civil rights movement. At that time, African-Americans didn’t have fair social status and were treated less favorably. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to relinquish her seat on a public bus to a white man, a violation...
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...progressed. Many states in the south implemented rules such as a literacy tests, civics tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and violence. Many colored people’s voting rights were opressed up until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed. Despite the rights guaranteed by the 14th amendment, the racial discrimination going on at polls did not begin to change until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed. A key force in this process were the multiple protests and...
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...As mentioned, the civil rights movement was nationally recognized and after a “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama, President Lyndon B. Johnson called for the comprehensive voting rights legislation. The Voting Rights Act’s overwhelming passage resulted from a number of converging factors: the clear denial of black voting rights in the South under Jim Crow; profound public outrage about the violence in Selma; a disciplined and compelling civil rights movement; the most liberal Congress since the New Deal; a Republican Party filled with northern moderates, many of them senior figures; and a president in Lyndon B. Johnson who specialized in steering complex legislation through the Congress (Berman 36). The voting rights bill was passed in the U.S....
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...became evident as the national government began to respond to protests held by groups of African Americans seeking equal rights. Since the ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 signaled significant development, members of society often came to the conclusion that racial equality had been achieved. However, in reality, society was far from establishing this equality. Though, in writing, discrimination against individuals based on color could no longer take place, states still found ways to subtly put specific groups at a disadvantage. Even today, over half a century later, states continue to treat different groups of individuals unequally based on...
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...However, the decision was close and had many opinions. In “Partisan Gerrymandering and the Voting Rights Act”, Richard Forgette and John Winkle provided a historical background on the decision: “In late April 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote affirmed the lower court judgment in Vieth and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims. On the issue of partisan gerrymandering, however, the ruling proved anything but conclusive. The significance of the ruling, it seems, now lies in its fractured set of opinions” The Justices’ split decision left the door open to reinterpreting the judiciable grounds for gerrymandering under the right circumstances. As displayed thus far, gerrymandering by Republicans has implied racial discrimination. While previous cases have...
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...of the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act says that states with a history of discrimination must get permission from the Federal Government before changing its voting process. Texas had its Voter ID upheld first in 2013, when a Supreme Court decision struck down what many considered the “heart” of the Voting Rights Act, the ability of the federal government to oversee the voting process in states with histories of discrimination. But in August of 2015, the Texas law was once again shot down by a federal appeals panel that ruled that the Texas law; regardless of intention “Discriminated again blacks Hispanics and...
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...Gerrymandering in Texas Gerrymandering refers to the act of shaping of districts by acting majority party for their electoral gain at the cost of minority parties. Texas Senate redistricting was passed in May of 2011 and signed by the governor in the 82nd legislative session. The Texas attorney general petitioned a declaratory case under section five of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court ruled that the coverage formula for determining states and local governments fall under the Voting Right Act. Following these rulings, Texas County was allotted 36 congressional districts which paved the way for a congressional redistricting bill which was passed during the first called session in June of 2011. The process for creating a Congressional...
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...In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act which bans racial discrimination by federal workers. Before the Civil War, free blacks were not given the right to vote. Southern states were the main issue because they created a majority of the issues due to their stubborn belief that African Americans should not be given rights. In result, African Americans were denied the right to vote in most parts of the south. That is when the Voting Rights Act was enacted, and removed barriers to voting. This required change in locale’s electoral system. In order for this Act to be successful, it required change in voting procedures. There still lies a problem here, even though congress enacted this law, citizens in the South continued to give African...
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...marches was three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL). In 1963, the DCVL and organizers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) began voter-registration work. When white resistance to Black voter registration proved intractable, the DCVL requested the assistance of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who brought many prominent civil rights and civic leaders to support voting rights. Planning the First March With civil rights activity blocked by Judge Hare's injunction, the DCVL requested the assistance of King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Three of SCLC's main organizers— Director of Direct Action and Nonviolent Education James Bevel, Diane Nash, and James Orange— had been working on Bevel's Alabama Voting Rights Project since late 1963, a project which King and the executive board of SCLC had not joined. When SCLC officially accepted Amelia Boynton's invitation to bring their organization to Selma, Bevel, Nash, Orange and others in SCLC began working in Selma in December 1964. They also worked in the surrounding counties along with the SNCC staff that had been active there since early 1963. The Selma Voting Rights Movement officially started on January 2, 1965, when King addressed a mass...
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