Advancing the Dream: 8 notable Civil Rights victories
5. Voting Rights Act of 1965
Even with the progress thus far made with civil rights activism, by the time 1965 began, many African Americans and others were being deprived of the right to vote in southern states.
In response to increased demonstrations by civil rights activists, most notably the March to Selma, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which President Johnson signed.
The federal law prohibited polling places from discriminating against voters on the basis of race, banned literary tests, and required federal overseers for certain jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination.
“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains one of the hardest-fought safeguards for black Americans and other minority groups as it relates to voting. The power, agency, and access to vote is a civil right for all,” noted the NAACP.
