The Anti-Defamation League is pleased to commemorate Constitution Day (September 18th, 2006) by celebrating the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization that occurred over the summer hiatus (July 27, 2006), also known as The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006.
In 1965, civil rights activists, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were met with hatred and violence when they marched from Selma to Montgomery to protest the pervasive discrimination taking place at polls across the country, including the use of literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, threats and violence (tactics that had been historically used to prevent women, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Latino/as and others from voting as well). The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Johnson just 5 months after the Alabama marches and hailed as one of the most effective civil rights laws ever, was shaped to redress these inequities. It prohibits discrimination based on race and also addresses the voting rights of language minority groups, thereby empowering millions of people of color and language minority citizens to participate in the political process. Important progress has been made since 1965, with significant increases in registered minority voters, minority voter turnout, and minority representation in Congress and state and local elected office.
Notwithstanding these achievements, there are still millions of U.S. citizens who are disenfranchised from the voting process. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, in studying the ongoing need for the Voting Rights Act from2005 to 2006, found that a second generation of discrimination has emerged that serves to abridge or deny equal minority voter participation, such as polling place changes, redistricting and denial of language assistance. The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization of 2006 faces up to these inequalities by renewing the temporary provisions of the Voting Rights Act for 25 years, and ensuring that the United States will continue to strive toward equal voting access for all citizens alike.
In recognition of this landmark legislation, the ADL is proud to feature three children's books that celebrate the right to vote, and help students to appreciate both their right and responsibility to actively participate in the political process.
In this story, a young African-American woman reminisces about
her grandfather's determination to vote in 1960s segregated
Mississippi. When a lawyer addresses a local gathering looking
for volunteers to register to vote, the girl's grandfather is the only
one to step forward. Granddaddy Joe braves racist taunts and
passes a test on the Mississippi Constitution to become the first
black registered voter in town. Fearful neighbors shun Granddaddy
and his family, but when their church is set on fire, the black community
unifies and joins Granddaddy in registering.
This is the story of Cordelia, a fictional young girl who is inspired by her neighbor, the suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Cordelia loves to ride on Stanton's old horse and dreams of being a real horsewoman despite her brother's sneers (he says she will not be a true horsewoman until she jumps a four-foot fence) and her parents' belief that this is not a lady-like ambition. On Election Day in 1880 (40 years before the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote), Cordelia accompanies Stanton to the Tenafly, New Jersey polls, where Stanton attempts to cast a vote in the local contests each year. Cordelia watches despondently as election officials ridicule Stanton, who flings her ballot at the hand covering the slot in the box. Inspired by Stanton's courage and angered by the teasing of her brother and other local boys, Cordelia makes her own protest by riding Stanton's old horse over a four-foot fence and proving her independence.
The Right to Vote provides an introduction to the evolution and importance of the right to vote and an involved citizenry. It presents an overview of democratic participation, beginning in Ancient Greece and continuing up to the international process found in the United Nations General Assembly. The book also includes chapters on the expansion of voting rights to women and persons of color around the globe.
In this story, a young African-American woman reminisces about
her grandfather's determination to vote in 1960s segregated
Mississippi. When a lawyer addresses a local gathering looking
for volunteers to register to vote, the girl's grandfather is the only
one to step forward. Granddaddy Joe braves racist taunts and
passes a test on the Mississippi Constitution to become the first
black registered voter in town. Fearful neighbors shun Granddaddy
and his family, but when their church is set on fire, the black community
unifies and joins Granddaddy in registering.
This is the story of Cordelia, a fictional young girl who is inspired by her neighbor, the suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Cordelia loves to ride on Stanton's old horse and dreams of being a real horsewoman despite her brother's sneers (he says she will not be a true horsewoman until she jumps a four-foot fence) and her parents' belief that this is not a lady-like ambition. On Election Day in 1880 (40 years before the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote), Cordelia accompanies Stanton to the Tenafly, New Jersey polls, where Stanton attempts to cast a vote in the local contests each year. Cordelia watches despondently as election officials ridicule Stanton, who flings her ballot at the hand covering the slot in the box. Inspired by Stanton's courage and angered by the teasing of her brother and other local boys, Cordelia makes her own protest by riding Stanton's old horse over a four-foot fence and proving her independence.
The Right to Vote provides an introduction to the evolution and importance of the right to vote and an involved citizenry. It presents an overview of democratic participation, beginning in Ancient Greece and continuing up to the international process found in the United Nations General Assembly. The book also includes chapters on the expansion of voting rights to women and persons of color around the globe.
