Statement of the Center for American Progress on the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

Washington, DC - As the nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 this Saturday, we should take the time to recognize the numerous citizens of the United States who gave their lives to secure the right to vote for all our citizens. For those who marched from Selma to Montgomery and immortalized the Edmund Pettus bridge as a cite of both tragedy and triumph, and to the heroic figures of the Mississippi Freedom Summer and others who risked their lives without making national headlines, President Johnson's signing of the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965 was the fulfillment of a collective dream and a down payment on the promise of America as a just and free society.

But as President Johnson recognized in his speech introducing the voting rights legislation to the country in March of 1965, "if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over." And the battle for justice and equality in America must continue with congressional action to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and strengthen two essential provisions of the law: Section 5, the pre-clearance provision that bars acts that deny the right to vote in covered geographical areas without pre-approval from the Department of Justice or the federal courts; and Section 203, the language provision that requires bilingual voting assistance to covered language minorities.

We face many challenges as a nation as we move toward a future in which our citizens of color will comprise a majority of our population. And if we are to begin to successfully address those challenges, we must take an essential first step with a meaningful reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.