Voting Rights Act Commemoration Comes with Warnings After Supreme Court Rulings

Voting Rights Act commemoration comes with warnings after Supreme Court rulings

President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr., Clarence Mitchell, and Patricia Roberts Harris exchange greetings after the signing of the Voting Rights Act on Aug. 6, 1965 in Washington, D.C. Speakers at an SPLC-sponsored event Thursday marked the 61st anniversary of the law, which has been gutted by recent Supreme Court rulings. (Courtesy of the LBJ Library) The Southern Poverty Law Center Thursday commemorated the 61st anniversary of…

In The Fight For Voting Rights, Winning Is Not The Same As Victory

By Evan Milligan | Special to the Birmingham Times Since 2021, a case bearing my family name has been winding through our federal court system. Allen v. Milligan asked whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act could still be used to challenge racial bias in how voting districts get drawn. I joined this lawsuit expecting to lose. Yet, my co-plaintiffs and I are undefeated. Five times the courts have reviewed our case — a federal panel and the U.…

Voting Rights, Black Men’s Economic Reality and the Headlines Shaping the Nation

Dr. Wes Bellamy joins Niele today to discuss the stories shaping politics, policy, and Black communities. We discuss a new report on the economic state of 22.7 million Black men and boys, including college enrollment, unemployment, wages, and the racial wealth gap. Daria Dawson, executive director of America Votes, joins the show on the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to discuss voting access, political representation, and what…

On the Voting Rights Act’s Anniversary, Short Film ‘Selma Sisters March On’ Captures 1965’s Fight for the Right to Vote

Aug. 6, 2026, marks the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, the VRA sought to end Jim Crow-era voter disenfranchisement. Particularly in Southern states, voting officials routinely required Black voters to jump through hoops such as “literacy tests” or arbitrary rules such as having to name every county in the state before voting. Even if a Black voter managed to make it this far, el…

OP-ED: From Selma to South Los Angeles: An Unsung Voting Rights Foot Soldier Says the Fight Isn’t Over – The Tennessee Tribune

More than six decades after risking her life in the fight for voting rights, 81-year-old Leatha Davis still remembers the sound of billy clubs striking peaceful demonstrators, the screams of marchers under attack, and the sacrifices that defined the Civil Rights Movement. Today, as recent Supreme Court decisions have narrowed key protections under the Voting Rights Act and battles over congressional redistricting continue, Davis believes the str…