Essay On African American Voting Rights

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African American Voting Rights in America American politics have changed drastically over time. Women won the right to vote. The voting age changed from 21 to 18, due to the ratification of the 26th amendment. African Americans have seen even more of a change. African Americans got the right to vote and in 1964 they finally won the right to exercise that right. The first African American president was sworn into office on January 20, 2009. Because the road to voting rights was so long and hard for African Americans it is even more important for them to exercise that right today. Although the 15th amendment granted African Americans the right to vote, it took almost 100 years for them to be able to exercise the right. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended unequal exercise of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, jobs and other facilities that were open to the general public. Many great leaders were involved in this movement. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. were two of the leaders who fought for justice and equal rights in the movement. “The 1960’s protest expanded and mobilized blacks facing them with direct confrontation of the people and places that discriminated …show more content…

“The act was aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” (Voting Rights Act) After this act was passed many things started to change in American politics. African Americans became more involved in politics, including voting. “By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new black voters had been registered. By the end of 1966, only 4 out of the 13 southern states has fewer than 50 percent of African Americans registered to vote.” (Voting Rights Act 1965) The Voting Rights Acts was then strengthened over the years of 1970, 1975, and

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