[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 101 (Friday, July 22, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                       VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

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                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 22, 2005

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to join Congressman John Lewis 
in introducing a resolution commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965. On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. 
Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. This Act is one of the 
Nation's most important civil rights victories and serves as a tribute 
to those that marched, struggled, and even died to secure the right to 
vote for all Americans.
  Brave Americans of different races, ethnicities, and religions risked 
their lives to stand up for political equality. Most notably, on March 
7, 1965, a day that would come to be known as ``Bloody Sunday,'' 
nonviolent civil rights activists, like Congressman John Lewis, were 
brutalized and demeaned in their pursuit of voting rights for all 
Americans. It took this horrific violence for the Nation to realize it 
had to own up to the democratic ideals it preached. Eight days later, 
President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a comprehensive and effective 
voting rights bill.
  This call for a voting rights bill was to ensure that this country 
realized the 15th Amendment of the Constitution, that ``the right of 
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged 
by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or 
previous condition of servitude.'' Forty years later, the Act has 
proven effective in furthering this Constitutional ideal, as it has 
enhanced political participation and opportunity among racial and 
ethnic minorities. Today the Voting Rights Act also serves to protect 
the rights of language minority and disabled voters.
  Please join us in celebrating this significant progress from 40 years 
of enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.

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