The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark federal statute prohibiting racial voting discrimination in the United States. During the height of the civil rights movement, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law on August 6th, 1965, and Congress changed it five times to reinforce its protections (“VOTING RIGHTS ACT | National Voting Rights Museum and Institute”). The Act intended to protect racial minorities’ ability to vote across the country, notably in the South, by enforcing voting rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution’s Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
During and after Reconstruction, Southern states attempted to disenfranchise racial minorities. Electoral fraud and violence in the South restricted African American voting from 1868 through 1888. However, today the situation has changed for the better thanks to the adopted laws. There is no longer racial segregation in the United States. The right to vote in elections is guaranteed to everyone, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
I believe that it was only by the power of law and the people’s will for freedom that America of the 20th century defeated racism in government. I see changes in this direction as the best way to solve the problem. Because until the authorities of the country want to defeat racism, it will flourish with its terrible consequences.
Only the strength of citizens’ democratic, free minds and their self-organized resistance to this kind of force can bring about change. Only by the joint efforts of citizens, by their will, can racism be defeated. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 illustrates this perfectly.
Suppose the free American people stop fighting to maintain and develop their rights and freedoms. In that case, they will be finished as such. Without constant struggle and support, democracy and liberty in the 2050s could be destroyed.
Suppose the free people of America continue to fight for their rights, freedoms, and democracy and organize themselves. In that case, by the 2050s, our children will have a chance for a future. For a future without segregation, a future without oppression and malice.
References
“VOTING RIGHTS ACT | National Voting Rights Museum and Institute.” National Voting Rights Museum & Institute, National Voting Rights Museum and Institute.