Voting Rights Act of 1965

Voting Rights Act of 1965 (ɛ Vɔɔteng Pɔgyɛɛ Lɔŋ Iŋɛ 1965)

Voting Rights Act of 1965 yɛ U.S. soŋ zɔŋbɛ pɔgyɛɛ lɔŋ ba nyɛ nɔŋɔraa daŋɛ bɛ vɔɔteng pɔge yelɛ kaŋ te nyuori kpɛla. Lɔŋ yi da President Lyndon B. Johnson na signe ŋa ka nyɛɛ 6 August, 1965, daŋ ka Civil Rights Movement zaa nyɛ kpɛle. U.S. Congress be te sa lɔŋ gaa kpɛge zaa na yelɛ zɔŋ nɔŋ yɛlɛ ɛkpɛ zɔ zɔŋ. Lɔŋ yɛɛ yɛlɛ na kpɛ na yɛle voting rights ka te nyɛɛ United States Constitution, ka Article 14 kpɛ Article 15 so. Lɔŋ yelɛ kpɛ na zɔŋ yelɛ zaa pɔge yelɛ kaŋ ba nɔŋɔre bɛ U.S., yɛlɛ taaɛ la South. U.S. Department of Justice be zɔ la lɔŋ yɛɛ U.S. soŋ pɔge kpɛŋɛ civil rights lɔŋ ba nyɛɛ. National Archives and Records Administration be yelɛ: “Voting Rights Act of 1965 yɛɛ soŋ lɔŋ gaa kpɛle na tɔre zɔŋɛɛ U.S. beŋɛ pɔge na lɔŋɛɛ tɔrɔ ɛkpɛ be tɛngɛɛ naa be tɛengɛɛ saa la Reconstruction period kaŋ Civil War zaa be ti ɛŋ.”

Lɔŋ taa provisions zaa ka be dɔŋɛ elections. “General provisions” be na kpɛla vɔɔteng pɔge kpɛŋɛ zɔŋɛɛ bɛ nyɛɛ U.S. Section 2 yɛɛ general provision kaŋ be zɔ la state kpɛ local governments ba yɔɔre zaa ka yelɛ na vɔɔteng kpɛ te nyɛɛ zɔŋ yelɛ ka ba yɛ race, colour, ana language minority group. Lɔŋ yi te yɛ literacy tests kpɛ dɔŋɛ kaŋ te wa zɔŋ nɔŋɔraa daŋɛ bɛ zɔŋ la vɔɔteng.

Lɔŋ taaɛ soŋ provisions kaŋ be na apply la taa jurisdictions. Section 5 yɛɛ lɔŋ soŋ ba yɛlɛ “preclearance”, kaŋ be kpɛ la jurisdictions ka yelɛ na be teɛ la election rules kpɛŋɛ, ba beɛ na saa la approval kpɛŋɛ be U.S. Attorney General ana U.S. District Court for D.C., na kpɛ ba kpɛɛ zɔŋɛɛ minority bɛ. Soŋ provision kpɛɛ nyɛɛ la bilingual ballots kpɛ election materials bɛ jurisdictions kaŋ language minority nyɛ kpɛle.

Section 5 kpɛ taaɛ soŋ provisions be apply la jurisdictions kaŋ Section 4(b) “coverage formula” nyɛɛ kpɛɛ. Formula yɛlɛ kpɛɛ la jurisdictions ka 1965 te zɔŋ zaa vɔɔteng pɔge kpɛŋɛ yɔɔre. Congress gaa kpɛɛ formula ŋa 1970 kpɛ 1975. Mɛ, 2013 la, Supreme Court of the U.S. be yelɛ ka Section 4(b) formula yɛ unconstitutional ŋa Shelby County v. Holder case zaa. Court be zɔ la Section 5 ba, mɛ nyɛ formula nɛɛ Section 5 zaa yɛ unenforceable. Nuu taaɛ jurisdictions ka be nyɛɛ coverage formula yɛlɛ kpɛɛ, be zɔ la voter registration purges kpɛ kpɛle.

 Background 
Nɛ yɛlɛ ka yɛ zaa yɛ U.S. Constitution zɔŋ daŋ baŋɛɛ la yɛɛ zaa kpɛla la states bɛ na be nyɛɛ zaa voting rules be nyɛɛ citizens bɛ. Mɛ, nɛ Civil War nyɛɛ nɛɛ, te ratify Reconstruction Amendments taaɛ, kaŋ be na saa la states nɛɛ kpɛla. Thirteenth Amendment (1865) yɛɛ ka slavery ba nyɛ la, nɛ baŋɛɛ ka yɛɛ punishment be crime. Fourteenth Amendment (1868) yɛɛ ka person bie anaa naturalized be U.S. nyɛɛ citizen, ka be zaa wa la due process kpɛ protection ɛ. Fifteenth Amendment (1870) yɛɛ ka zɔŋɔrɔ bɛ U.S. baŋɛɛ ka be ba yɛɛ vɔɔteng kpɛ race, colour, ana sɛ ɔ yɛ slave da.

Congress waa power la yɛɛ lɔŋ be enforce zɔŋɛɛ Amendments bɛɛ. Tɛ 1870s la, Congress be pass la Enforcement Acts be criminalize la sɛ ka person ba wa saa zɔŋɔrɔ bɛ vɔɔteng, kpɛ be allow la federal supervision be registration. Mɛ, 1875 la, U.S. Supreme Court be saa lɔŋɛɛ da nɛɛ be yelɛ ka ba yɛ unconstitutional (e.g. U.S. v. Cruikshank, U.S. v. Reese). Nɛ Reconstruction yelɛɛ zaa nɛɛ 1877, enforcement yɛɛ ba nyɛɛ yaga, ka 1894 la Congress be repeal lɔŋɛɛ zaa.

Southern states be pɔge la zaa disenfranchisement (yɛɛ baŋɛɛ la zɔŋɔrɔ ba wa vɔɔteng) yɛ racial minorities. Tɛ 1868 kpɛ 1888 la, electoral violence kpɛ fraud be suppress la African-American vɔɔteng. Tɛ 1888 kpɛ 1908 la, Southern states be pass la Jim Crow laws kpɛ amend la constitutions bɛ na be impose literacy tests, poll taxes, property requirements, “moral character” tests, interpretation of documents, kpɛ “grandfather clauses” kaŋ yɛɛ ka person ba yɛ eligible la voting nɛ grandfada yɛ vɔɔtɛr da (yɛ ka exclude la many African Americans).

Supreme Court be support la discriminatory efforts zaa. E.g., in Giles v. Harris (1903), Court be yelɛ ka dù Fifteenth Amendment yɛɛ, Court ba wa power la force states na be register minorities.

Zaa ka yɛlɛ Voting Rights Act of 1965 ba kyɛɛ, Southern states be zɔ la nɔŋɔrɔ bɛ, yɛ kaŋ ba African Americans, ba yɛɛ vɔɔteng. Mɛ baŋɛɛ ka literacy tests kpɛ poll taxes nɛɛ, na bureautic restrictions zaa be yɛɛ na saa la zɔŋɔrɔ bɛ vɔɔteng. African Americans be gɔ lɛnɛ ka ba wa register anaa vote – ba gɔ harassment, intimidation, economic punishment, kpɛ physical violence. Nɛ yɛlɛɛ, African Americans zɔɔ zaa be yɛ registered voters kpɛ ba zaa kpɛ political power nyɛɛ – local yelɛ anaa national level yɛ.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965#

Tɛ 1950s la, Civil Rights Movement be kpɛ la pressure kpɛ federal government na be kpɛɛ zɔŋɔrɔ bɛ voting rights. Nɛ 1957 la, Congress be pass la Civil Rights Act of 1957, ka yɛɛ first civil rights law da Reconstruction be tiɛ. Lɔŋ nɛɛ be na Attorney General power na be sue on behalf of zɔŋɔrɔ ka Fifteenth Amendment right ba zɔ. Lɔŋ nɛɛ be kɔ Civil Rights Division bɛ Department of Justice, kpɛ Commission on Civil Rights be zɔ voting rights violations.

1960 la, Civil Rights Act be kpɛ protections: e.g., federal courts be wa appoint referees na be register zɔŋɔrɔ be racial minorities bɛ areas ka voting discrimination be nyɛɛ.

Mɛ, dù lɔŋɛɛ zaa be kpɛ la power bɛ courts, law standards yɛ kpɛkpɛle na Department of Justice ba nyɛɛ successful litigation. E.g., sɛ ba sue state be maintain literacy tests, Department be wa prove ka rejected applications bɛ racial minorities yɛ sɛɛ la accepted white ones. Nɛɛ wa dɔɔ la thousands of documents across counties, yɛɛ wa kpɛlɛ months. Local officials kpɛɛ be yɛɛ resistance – be yelɛ ka registration documents ba lɛɛ, be delete names, ana be resign na process yɛɛ ba kyɛ. Some federal judges ba yɛ support minority suffrage, so cases wa appeal multiple times.

1957 kpɛ 1964 la, dù Department of Justice be litigate 71 voting rights cases, African-American voter registration rate nyɛɛ kpɛkpɛ. Zaa ka Department be yɛ litigation on case-by-case basis ba yɛɛ successful – ka one discriminatory law be prove unconstitutional, new one be replace ɛɛ.

1964 la, Congress be pass la Civil Rights Act of 1964 na kpɛ la public services discrimination. Lɔŋ nɛɛ yɛɛ ka registrars be treat literacy tests equally, kpɛ applications be wa accept dù ɛɛ small errors. E be yelɛ ka zɔŋɔrɔ be sixth-grade education yɛ literate. Mɛ, dù civil rights leaders lobby hard, law ba ban all voting discrimination forms.

President Lyndon B. Johnson be gɔ la problem nɛɛ, nɛɛ elections after 1964, mɛ be kɔ Attorney General Katzenbach privately: “Draft me toughest voting rights law." Mɛ publicly ba support ɛɛ, ka advisors be yelɛ ka sɛ e push law too early, e wa destroy Great Society plans, ka Southern Democrats wa angry.

Nɛɛ elections yelɛɛ la, civil rights organizations sɛɛ Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) kpɛ Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) be yelɛ la government na act. Focus be ba la Selma, Alabama, ka County Sheriff Jim Clark be fight voter registration with police violence.

James Forman bɛ SNCC be yelɛ: “Our plan yɛɛ na force U.S. government to act. If dem ba act, e wa show zaa dem ba on our side. Slogan yɛɛ: ‘One Man, One Vote.’”

January 1965 la, Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel, kpɛ others be organize peaceful protests. Mɛ police kpɛ white citizens be attack la protests. February 1, King kpɛ others be arrest. February 4, Malcolm X be give strong speech in Selma, ka be criticize King’s nonviolence. He later be yelɛ ka be do ɛɛ na scare whites make dem support King. Next day, King be release, kpɛ be write Letter From a Selma Jail, published bɛ New York Times.

National focus kpɛ media attention be nyɛɛ kpɛle la Selma. February 6, Johnson be reverse decision, kpɛ yelɛ ka be wa send proposal to Congress – mɛ ba show date anaa details.

February 18, bɛ Marion, Alabama, police be break peaceful night march. One police – James Bonard Fowler – be shoot dead young protester, Jimmie Lee Jackson, yɛɛ ba armed – be try protect ma. Event zaa inspire Bevel kpɛɛ, ka March 7, SCLC kpɛ SNCC be start Selma to Montgomery march. Goal yɛɛ ba reach Alabama capital, kpɛ present complaints to Governor George Wallace.

First day, bɛ Edmund Pettus Bridge, police on horses be stop marchers – be use tear gas, beat dem. This day be come “Bloody Sunday”, ka video be shock entire U.S.

March 9, another march – “Turnaround Tuesday” – white ministers be attacked by Ku Klux Klan. Reverend James Reeb be kill.

March 15, Johnson be address Congress live on TV, be use civil rights slogan “We shall overcome,” kpɛ call for voting rights law. Two days after, bill be introduce bɛ Congress. Civil rights leaders, protected by federal troops, be lead 25,000 people from Selma to Montgomery. 

 Sommo Yizie