ACLU Report: Voting Discrimination Continues in South
Despite considerable progress since passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, race discrimination in voting continued in the South, an ACLU report charged on this day.
Discriminatory practices included the use of at-large elections, which dilute African-American voting strength in many communities; gerrymandering and annexations; and other practices. The report did note that the number of African-Americans holding public office in the South had increased from about 300 in 1965 to more than 2,400 over 17 years.
For the 1965 Voting Rights Act, go to August 6, 1965. For the 2013 Supreme Court decision invalidating the key provision of the Voting Rights Act, which required “pre-clearance” with the Justice Department of any changes that would affect voting, go to June 25, 2013.
Learn more about the ongoing struggle for voting rights: https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights
Read: Chandler Davidson and Bernard Groffman, Quiet Revolution in the South: The Impact of the Voting Rights Act, 1965-1990 (1994)
Learn more: Ari Berman, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America (2015)
Read: Samuel Walker, In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU (1990)
Learn about the ACLU today: www.aclu.org