-
1960
Congress passed the civil rights act. This means all election officails should have all records relating voter registration. It also permits the Department of Justice to inspect these records. Now the african Americans are aloud to vote!! -
1964
In 1964, many demonstrations were held, and the a lot of violence that erupted brought more attention to the issue of voting rights. -
The March
More than 500 non- violent civil rights marcher were attach by officer while attempting to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They did this to make a scene on the need for African American voting rights, and the police shooting of Jimmy Lee Jackson, a civil rights activist. -
Signing of the act
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the voting act into law. -
Voting Act
This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Impact of the law
The law had an immediate impact. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new black voters had been registered, one-third by Federal examiners. -
More impact
By the end of 1966, only 4 out of the 13 southern states had fewer than 50 percent of African Americans registered to vote. -
1965-1969
Between 1965 and 1969, the Supreme Court issued several key decisions of the constitutionality of Section 5 and affirming the range of voting practices for which preclearance was required. -
Section 5
Congress extended Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for five years. Section 5 focused on the use of discriminatory tests and other devices designed to exclude certain individuals from the voting process. -
The Voteing Rights Language Assistance Act
The Voting Rights Language Assistance Act was passed. This legislation required bilingual voting materials and expanded coverage to jurisdictions with more than 10,000 voting-age minority citizens who were not good in English. -
Congressman John A. Lewis
Congressman John A. Lewis introduced H.R. 1457, a bill to protect the voting rights of homeless citizens. -
Revisions
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was readopted and strengthened in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
