The Twentieth Century Civil Rights Movement THE RIGHT TO VOTE

In a short reply of one to three sentences, respond to the following prompt:  Why is the vote so important in the American system of government? FOCUS QUESTION

“Where universal suffrage [voting] is the rule, where that is the fundamental idea of the Government, to rule us out is to make us an exception, to brand us with the stigma of inferiority, and to invite to our heads the missiles of those about us; therefore, I want the franchise for the black man.” Frederick Douglass “What the Black Man Wants” April 1865

“Our fathers believed that if this noble view of the rights of man was to flourish, it must be rooted in democracy. The most basic right of all was the right to choose your own leaders. The history of this country, in large measure, is the history of the expansion of that right to all of our people” Lyndon B. Johnson Speech to Congress May 15, 1965

 Black Voting Rights suppressed in the South  15 th Amendment rolled back since the Reconstruction Era  Intimidation  Legislation  Poll Taxes  Literacy Tests  Roadblocks THE QUEST FOR THE VOTE

 Civil Rights Activists recognized this need  Forced new tactics  NAACP turned to the law and the courts  Economic boycotts by the SCLC and SNCC  The Vote was Key RECOGNITION

 Drive to register Black voters in Mississippi  Called by SNCC for the summer of 1964  Integrated teams would go to rural Mississippi  Voter Registration drives  “Freedom Schools”  Idea was the build the movement FREEDOM SUMMER

 On June 21, three volunteers went missing  James Chaney  Andrew Goodman  Mickey Schwerner  Pulled over in Neshoba County  Multistate manhunt called  Bodies found on August 4 near Philadelphia, MS  Seven found guilty of “civil rights” violations  One was tried with murder in 2005 TRAGEDY

 Drive expanded to Selma in 1965  Protests grew  March to Montgomery  First driven back by police violence  March opened with legal decision SELMA

 Voting Rights Act became law on August 5, 1965  Protecting voting rights  Banned literacy tests  Banned poll taxes in state elections  Banned voting discrimination for racial and language minorities  Established federal oversight of election practices in certain area  History of discrimination against voters  Overturned in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

 Minority voting expanded almost immediately  More African American and Latino/a representatives in government  Wider appreciation for issues LEGACIES

 Voter ID laws today  Called for to prevent election fraud  In practice suppresses minority voting  Moral Monday Movement in North Carolina LEGACIES (II)

In a short reply of one to three sentences, respond to the following prompt:  Describe what you liked and what you did not like about today’s lesson SUMMARY