Voting Discrimination in African American Communities

Discrimination in voting has been a prevalent issue in the African American community. Before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 poll taxes, literacy tests, and physical intimidation have prevented African Americans from voting. While this problem is widely recognized as an issue of the past it is still made possible through racial gerrymandering. This is an important matter because it has restricted fully entitled American citizens from voting. In 1870 Congress passed the fifteenth amendment, which gave voting rights to African Americans. Soon after, states began enforcing expensive poll taxes and extensive literacy tests on African Americans before they could vote. Poll taxes were first introduced in 1876 with the intention of being enforced upon blacks and whites. The tax was disproportionately hard on African Americans and especially on freed slaves. The literacy tests issued to African Americans were exceedingly demanding. These tests were up to twenty pages long and included questions such as, â€Å"Where do presidential electors cast ballots for president?† â€Å"Name the rights a person has after he has been indicted by a grand jury.†, according to freerepublic.com. Literacy tests were impractical with the very little formal education given to African Americans. On top of that, physical intimidation and violence from the Ku Klux Klan made it nearly impossible for Blacks to vote. Luckily, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discrimination in voting. Today, gerrymanderingShow MoreRelatedThe Voting Rights Act Of 19651288 Words   |  6 Pages1965; these changes positively impacted the minority community. During this year, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped enforce the 15th Amendment and prohibited racial discrimination in voting. 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Johnsons Explaination of our Fundamental Rights in â€Å"American Promise: Message to Congress†1206 Words   |  5 PagesVoting rights have been a constant struggle for most people in America. During the eighteenth century, only property owning white men were able to vote. This means that the colored individuals and women were excluded from the basic right to vote. The southern white society deeply opposed the idea of African Americans voting, creating discriminating legislations furthering the problem in a society dominated by White Americans. Lyndon B. Johnson outlines the differences between the law and justice