Voting Rights Act-Black Americans

Attorney Edward Blackmon Jr., 78, a civil rights attorney and a former state representative, right, demonstrates how he and other civil rights marchers were taught how to protect themselves if physically set upon by lawmen to his son State Sen. Bradford Blackmon, D-Canton, in Canton, Miss., Friday, May 1, 2026.

Tags

As featured on

Black Americans face a new fight for racial representation after justices' Voting Rights Act ruling

Black Americans face a new fight for racial representation after justices' Voting Rights Act ruling

A generation of Black Americans across the South fought in courtrooms and in the streets during the Civil Rights Movement to dismantle barriers to voting. Their goal was to achieve political representation in a region scarred by the legacy of slavery and its aftermath. One of the crown jewels of that struggle was the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and this week it was hollowed out by the Supreme Court. The majority opinion described racism as a problem of the past. Others saw the decision as another example of its resurgence. The ruling could make it harder for minorities to get elected.