In 1870, the 15th amendment to Constitution outlawed racial discrimination in voting. However, that didn't stop some states, particularly in the South, from doing everything from voter intimidation to poll taxes, to literacy tests, to keep blacks from voting. People were brutally beaten and even murdered over their right to vote. Nearly a century later, in August 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed and signed into law. Over the years, the Supreme Court has chipped away at the power of the act and it's happened again. what does it all mean for the rights of all Americans to vote? What's the impact on the African American community? On this episode of Another View, unpacking the 1965 Voting Rights Act with guests Cleo Fields, who represents Louisiana's 6th Congressional District and Dr. VaniaBlaiklock, Constitutional Law Scholar. This, and all Another View programs can be heard on demand at whro.org.
The State of the Voting Rights Act on Another View
