This book is an account of the enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It was fun to read as the movie came to town.
No doubt this law transformed American democracy. It completely changed Southern politics for good. Selma's Sheriff Clark was voted out of office in the next election in Selma, and he would never again plague the city with his virulent racism. Voting rights are threatened again today as Republicans do everything they can with ID laws and restrictive hours and limiting absentee voting to reduce access to the ballot.
The Voting Rights Act was signed on August 6, 1965.
The drama of Selma began with a 21 year old man named Bernard Lafayette all of age 21. He deserves as much credit as anyone.
Leadership of the voting rights effort in Selma passed from Lafayette to MLK.
As late as January of 1965 a voting rights bill was not at the top of LBJ's priority list. Events in Selma and the urging of MLK forced his hand, but the President came thru when it counted and when he had the chance to do something. The activist and the politician eventually came together.
There was first talk of a constitutional amendment. Good thing the voting rights bill eventually won out because it would have taken too long for an amendment to go thru the process.
This book puts the times and the enactment of the Voting Rights bill in historical perspective.
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