Fighting For Black Political Power As Voting Rights Act Turns 60

As one of the most impactful pieces of legislation in American history, the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act should be a time of celebration. Now, instead of celebrating the advancements of American democracy, communities across the country find themselves in the middle of a multi-generational attack on the franchise and all the other rights that flow from it. 

Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on Aug. 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act offered the first real promise of full political participation for Black Americans across the South. The safeguards and protections established by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 paved the way for a more representative government that began to reflect the will of the people, by the people. 

Civil Rights groups have commemorated the day, reflecting on the resilience and determination of our predecessors, as we face an increasingly hostile anti-democracy minority running recklessly across the federal government. 

Despite efforts to restore and expand the protections afforded by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the moral clarity from 60 years ago is lacking in congressional leadership. Ahead of the landmark anniversary, Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock, supported by the Senate Democratic Caucus, reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. 

If passed, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore geographic preclearance under an updated formula, create new nationwide practices of pre-clearance for voting practices with known discriminatory effects. It would further bolster protections against vote dilution, denial, and abridgement as we’ve seen in many states post-Shelby County v. Holder. 

According to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, over 200 civil rights and democracy organizations signed on in support of the reintroduction of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the Senate. 

“Extremists who prefer a White, Christian and male controlled country don’t mind destroying our rights to see a return to the days when Black people, Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans could be blocked from the ballot but told it’s not due to racism,” said Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “We are not just celebrating 60 years of voting rights, we’re calling out more than a decade of deliberate harm aimed at voters of color.”

According to Wiley, overcoming the expansive and arguably unconstitutional overreach that undermines our rights requires the passage of a suite of pro-democracy reforms, including the Freedom to Vote Act, the Native American Voting Rights Act, and the DC statehood bill. She said this freedom package was necessary to protect our communities and hold “anti-voter” politicians accountable. 

 “Those in power see the rise of a multiracial democracy as a threat, and they are doing everything they can to silence it,” Wiley said. “We will keep rising up and speaking out for the fundamental right to decide who represents us and what they do with our power.” 

Texas mid-decade power grab is about denying Black political power

And yet, at the state level, community coalitions are stepping up efforts to combat the growing reach of authoritarianism on multiple fronts. Texas has grabbed the national attention as Republicans steeped in white entitlement and resentment demand five extra congressional seats as they further deny and restrict Black voters’ right to fair representation. 

With over four million Black Texans, the largest Black population in the country, it’s unsurprising that the Lone Star State is ground zero for the latest Republican scheme. Speaking with NewsOne about the politically motivated mid-decade redistricting effort, Resha Thomas, project director for the Texas Black Action Fund, said the move was grounded in fear. 

“We are not even in our final stages on the maps that were redistricted in 2021,” Thomas said. “It’s a fear from those who have been used to retaining power in the state of Texas.” 

Fear of Black power and political representation has long been a driving force of anti-democracy factions in this country. It’s part of why the Voting Rights Act was even needed in 1965, despite the passage of the 15th Amendment nearly 100 years earlier. 

“If they’re able to succeed in the state of Texas, they are looking to do this in other states,” she said. 

Thomas said, calling the Texas mid-decade power grab an attack “not only on access to voting, but representation.” 

“It’s like who do you call when you have a veteran who’s seeking services?” she said. “It means if you have concerns or issues around your SNAP benefits or Medicaid, having limited resources of having someone answer that phone and help advocate for you.”

The current far-right assault on democracy follows a calculated decades-long attack on the federal courts that paved the way for this moment. But a disingenuous opinion by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in Shelby County, claiming the end of discrimination as we knew it in 1965, gave Texas and several other Republican controlled states free rein to get back into the disenfranchisement business. Trump and his cronies are simply exploiting the loopholes and chaos the Roberts court has inflicted on the very institutions meant to serve the people. 

“What we’re telling folks is there’s a lot to come,” Thomas said. “We’ve just finished six and a half, almost seven months of this new administration. We still got years to go.” 

Protecting the right to vote can’t be wrapped in respectability and comfort 

If the need for doing more than just showing up to vote wasn’t clear before, hopefully, people are finally getting the message loud and clear. For Tiffany Roberts, public policy director for the Southern Center for Human Rights, the long road ahead has been fortified by movement groundwork that laid the foundation for passing critical legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act.

As she reflected on the act’s 60th anniversary, Roberts called for people to reconnect with why our ancestors fought for the right to vote. 

“We’ve reduced it to just literally going to the ballot box,” she said.” But we’ve forgotten that the point of it is for the place where we live and raise our families to reflect our values and our dignity.” 

For Roberts, part of the shift also requires people to understand that we cannot simply focus on the right to vote alone. The right to vote exists in direct relationship with all the other rights and issues that flow from it. 

She also challenged people’s complacency and acceptance of restrictions on core freedoms, such as the right to protest and free speech, which has paved the way for where we are now. 

“We will talk about the dire straits that we are in and still believe that our advocacy must be comfortable,” Roberts said. “If the state is unchecked, that means that the power of life and death is in the hands of people who really only wanted us to labor for free and build the wealth of this economy under draconian conditions.”

SEE ALSO: 

Florida Supreme Court Backs DeSantis in Diluting Black Voter Power

Celebrating Juneteenth Amid Resurging Fascism 160 Years Later