VUS.13b.10

The Effect of the Voting Rights Act
(United States Department of Justice: "Civil Rights Division, Voting Section")


Description
This resource shows students the concrete results of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 through tables and graphs on black and white voter registration figures for 1965 and 1988, as well as a graph charting the number of southern black legislators during extended periods in the late nineteenth- and late-twentieth centuries. Other links in this project website include material on the era prior to the 1965 act, and the text of the act itself.
Teaching Tips

"Do Now" Suggestions

  1. The teacher can provide students with a copy of each of the 2 graphs from the website and ask the following questions:

    • Was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 effective? Why or why not?
    • Do you notice any other trends in voter registration in these graphs?
    • How would you describe the trend in the number of black southern legislators from 1868 to 1900 versus from 1960 to 1992? What do you think accounts for these trends?

Suggestions for Using this Resource as Part of a Lesson

  1. While it is important that the students understand the effect of the Voting Rights Act (as part of the Do Now activity), it is also essential that they understand the challenges that African-Americans faced in registering to vote before the act. The students can research these challenges on the website (there are links to information on "Before the Voting Rights Act" and "The Voting Rights Act of 1965") to complete a Cause-Effect Organizer on the inability of African-Americans to register to vote before the Voting Rights Act. (The students might also research the challenges from the Unita Blackwell interview)