US Edition
60th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act Celebrated
UNITED STATES, AUG 7 – Sixty years after its enactment, the Voting Rights Act faces renewed challenges from restrictive laws and gerrymandering that threaten minority voting power, with 29 states passing 94 such laws since 2013.
- On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted legislation that restored the ability of African Americans, previously denied the vote by Jim Crow laws, to participate in elections.
- The Act followed violent events in Selma, Alabama, and decades of civil rights struggles but key provisions were invalidated by the 2013 Supreme Court Shelby v. Holder decision.
- Following the Shelby decision, a minimum of 29 states enacted a total of 94 new laws that impose restrictions on voting, such as measures involving felony disenfranchisement and gerrymandering, leading to increased efforts to protect and broaden access to voting rights.
- Speakers highlighted that the right to participate in democracy extends to all individuals, no matter their racial or cultural background, and raised concerns about deliberate efforts to undermine birthright citizenship and manipulate electoral district boundaries in undemocratic ways.
- The 60th anniversary highlighted ongoing challenges to voting rights and mobilization efforts against restrictive laws, underscoring the fragility of democracy in the United States.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Fighting For Black Political Power As Voting Rights Act Turns 60
✕ As one of the most impactful pieces of legislation in American history, the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act should be a time of celebration. Now, instead of celebrating the advancements of American democracy, communities across the country find themselves in the middle of a multi-generational attack on the franchise and all the other rights that flow from it. Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on Aug. 6, 1965, the Voting Ri…
Black Catholics Reflect on 60 Years of the Voting Rights Act and Challenges Today
Participants are seen marching in a Civil Rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in this 1965 photo. More than 60 years ago – March 7, 1965 – approximately 600 peaceful demonstrators approached the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and were greeted by a phalanx of armed sheriff’s deputies and state troopers who rushed the marchers and brutally beat them. (Photo: OSV News photo/Library of Congress via Reuters) by Kimberley Heatherin…
InsideNoVA.com
On 60th anniversary of Voting Rights Act, McClellan introduces bill to strengthen it
This week marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, landmark legislation that outlawed racist voter disenfranchisement and expanded voting rights to Black Americans whose ability to cast a ballot had been severely limited, especially in Virginia and other…
60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act celebrated
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - 60 years ago on Wednesday, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Although the 15th Amendment prohibited states from denying the right to vote based on race, there were still barriers for minorities to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated those barriers. Since it began law, 15 states, particularly southern states, had to submit any changes to their election laws or policies to the …
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