OPINIION: 60 years after the Voting Rights Act became law, voting remains a problem in much of Black America

On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law what we came to know as the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That event was very significant at the time and remained so for years to come. While it helped doom the Democratic Party among white voters in the south even to this day, it was a good and necessary tool in the hands of Black people.

Among other things, the Voting Rights Act nullified state laws requiring the passage of a literacy test and the payment of a poll tax in order to vote. It authorized the use of federal registrars and permitted the use of poll watchers. Over time, it required areas that had a history of racial discrimination to secure pre-clearance from the federal government before making any changes in their election laws. Finally, the law was amended to apply to other groups that had been discriminated against in the past.

In its wake, many major cities elected Black mayors, Mississippi soon had the highest number of Black elected officials in the country and the number of Black U.S. senators and representatives rose dramatically. Perhaps just as important in the south, it meant rather than racist white candidates campaigning on their racist beliefs, they tried to hide them.

Black people could appreciate the Voting Rights Act because they had been written out of that right in the original Constitution, with the door being rudely slammed and locked by the Dred Scott decision. Black people realized how, despite the 14th Amendment, southern officials had wrested the vote from Black men through their discriminatory state constitutions. Using violence and states’ rights tools, more than 90% of the Black men in the south had been denied the right to vote. 

Then, in 1965 in one fell swoop, Congress and President Johnson had set the stage for a political reversal of the fate of Black people. By 1965 we can also talk about Black women voters since the 19th Amendment had given women the right to vote.

Alas, the Voting Rights Act may have set the stage for such a reversal. What many students of America’s racial history realize, however, is that nothing is inevitable and nothing is irreversible.

A significant number of Black people remain skeptical and do not utilize the vote to maximize Black power. This has blunted the Voting Rights Act’s effectiveness. Even more detrimental and long-lasting, however, is the manner in which the Supreme Court under-minded or gutted the Voting Rights Act in the case of Shelby County vs. Holder. Since that ruling, many southern states have gone back to the practice of open racial discrimination, relying heavily on registration and gerrymandering procedures. If left unchecked, over a period of time, Black people could end up where they were pre-1965.

These anti-voting rights actions reveal how much of an ongoing battle is faced in America. They show the fragility of Black rights, if and when they must depend upon racist executives, legislatures, and judiciaries. 

The anti-voting rights actions point to the need for the passage of bills like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Bill. They ultimately point to the need for those who truly believe in democracy and human rights to become and stay informed of their history and current events, to develop and use their courage to fight for the present and future generations, and to always seek out like-minded individuals in order to maximize their efforts toward our common goal.