Voting
On Aug. 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law. “Voting Rights History Two Centuries of Struggle” offers a timeline of two centuries of voting rights struggles.
The decades of organizing and sustained resistance are left out of the traditional narrative. Read The Voting Rights Act: Ten Things You Should Know.
Aug. 6 is also the anniversary of the less known yet, in many ways, more pivotal event in 1964 that played a major role in securing the 1965 legislation. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party State Convention with 2,500 people in Jackson, Mississippi.
Howard Zinn said:
It was probably as close to a grassroots political convention as this country has ever seen.
In 2020, historian Martha Jones tweeted about the 55th anniversary of the VRA and the Black women who worked to make it a reality. Jones is the author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.
Election Information You Need
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Voting Resources/Activities
Elementary Secondary Zinn Education
Kids Voting USA K-2 Kids Voting USA 3-5 New York State Archives Who gets to vote?
Social Justice Books Voting History in NYS Color if Change Voting Rights Toolkit
iCivics Games Voting Rights Timeline
Kids Choice Awards New York Voting Information
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