The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is significant in that it allows for all citizens to be included in the electoral process. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 disavows discrimination on the basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” and allows for all citizens to vote in “state, territory, district, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial subdivision” elections. (The Voting Rights Act of 1965) This act poignantly captures the discrimination of subordinate groups throughout the United States and the lengths these individuals were required to go to ascertain their own freedom. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 literally changed the course of history by allowing the law to become color blind and free of prejudice to properly grant the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Throughout this essay, I will analyze the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the manner in which it reshaped the course of history throughout the United States.
During the fight for civil rights, black suffrage remained a prevalent issue among the fight for equality in public spaces, school and various other institutions. Martin Luther King wrote in, Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., “In December 1964 the President [Johnson] told me it was impossible to get a voting rights bill, but three months later the same President was on television calling for the passage of a voting rights bill in Congress.” (King 271) Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 act during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The legislation was passed in response to Jim Crow laws and other restrictions of minorities’ voting rights at the time, primarily in the Southern states. African Americans fought for their freedom to varying capacities, but with placed a huge emphasis on civil disobedience. As demonstrated by the March on Washington, organized by A. Philip Randolph, African Americans will not have their voices silenced they will raise their voices just as Marian Anderson lifted her voice at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. As King decrees, “we [African Americans] started a movement” it was led by African Americans and inspired by centuries of violence upon slaves, upon sharecroppers, upon little girls attempting to go to school and upon every black individual attempting to live a life that the United States Constitution guarantees. (King 271)
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 act during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The legislation was passed in response to Jim Crow laws and other restrictions of minorities’ voting rights at the time, primarily in the Southern states. African Americans fought for their freedom to varying capacities, but with placed a huge emphasis on civil disobedience. As demonstrated by the March on Washington, organized by A. Philip Randolph, African Americans will not have their voices silenced they will raise their voices just as Marian Anderson lifted her voice at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. As King ascribes, “we [African Americans] started a movement” it was led by African Americans and inspired by centuries of violence upon slaves, upon sharecroppers, upon little girls attempting to go to school and upon every black individual attempting to live a life that the United States Constitution guarantees.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 radically altered the course of inequity placed upon African Americans throughout the history of the United States. The nature of the Voting Rights Act limits the power of state governments ability to discriminate upon citizens of the United States. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains a living document and is proof of the inclusionary tactics of the United States since the document has been ratified five times. Conflicting ideologies among the African American community also resurfaced prior to the demonstration at Selma, Malcolm X rejected the views of King and his nonviolent approach during a militant speech at Selma. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is significant in that it exposed the history of discrimination and disenfranchisement that continues throughout the history of the United States.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 demonstrates the progress of the United States and the efforts that African Americans underwent to secure their freedom and equality. It is difficult to imagine that in 1964 in Selma, Alabama only 353 African Americans were able to vote out of 15,000. Furthermore, it is disgustingly hard to imagine that in 1965, nonviolent protestors in Selma were met with state troopers to challenge their peace. However, amidst the attempt to disenfranchise and further stifle African Americans the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was breed. Equality does not fight for itself, it requires tenacious individuals with the spirit of endurance to prevail. African Americans consistently illuminate patterns of inequality throughout the United States and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is living proof of this fact. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a proper paradigm for the change that needs to be affected to eradicate all forms of inequality throughout the United States.