[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 14, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   VOTING RIGHTS ACT 45TH ANNIVERSARY

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                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2010

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a great sense of 
honor to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the enactment of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965. Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson 
on August 6, 1965, it is important for us as a group to honor this 
important piece of legislation that helped America fulfill its promise.
  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured that African Americans' 15th 
Amendment rights were protected and enforced. The 15th Amendment 
guarantees every American their right to vote shall not be denied or 
abridged by the United States or by any other State on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude. Before this piece of 
legislation was passed African Americans in many parts of the country 
were unable to exercise the most fundamental right of a democracy.
  This historic piece of legislation was too meaningful to be 
forestalled by the habitual partisan fighting that has historically 
come to define Congress. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed the House 
of Representatives by a vote of 32 to 74 and the Senate by a vote of 79 
to 18. These margins evidence the fact that the Voting Rights Act of 
1965 was a bill that didn't just protect the rights of minorities in 
America, but helped the country heal past injustices and become closer 
to reaching the ultimate promise of ensuring equal freedom to all.
  Although we have come a long way to ensuring the equal protection of 
rights of every single American, we must never stop fighting against 
the forces of hate and ignorance that exist. Much remains to be done 
before true equality can be found in both Northwest Indiana and America 
as a whole.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues 
join me in commemorating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. When we feel 
like today's struggles for equality are too much to handle, we must 
take the time to look back on how far we have come and find the 
strength to fight on from the advances in freedom and liberty that have 
occurred in our not so distant past.

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