[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 101 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4142-S4144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FREEDOM SUMMER AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I wish to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and to
talk for a few minutes about how Senators can work together to make
this a more perfect Union and guarantee equal justice under the law to
all Americans.
Freedom Summer was a campaign in Mississippi to register Black voters
during the summer of 1964. In 1964, most Black voters were
disenfranchised by law or practice in Mississippi, notwithstanding the
15th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1870. The
15th Amendment provides that ``the rights of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by . . . any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.''
On January 23, 1964, the States ratified the 24th Amendment to the
Constitution, which provides that ``the rights of citizens of the
United States to vote in any primary or other [Federal] election . . .
shall not be denied or abridged . . . by any State by reason of failure
to pay any poll tax or other tax.''
The Freedom Summer voting rights initiative was led by the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, SNCC, with the support of the
Council of Federated Organizations, COFO, which included the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, the Congress
of Racial Equality, referred to in this preamble as the CORE, and the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC.
Thousands of students and activists participated in 2-week
orientation sessions in preparation for the voter registration drive in
Mississippi. In 1962, at 6.7 percent of the State's Black population,
Mississippi had one of the lowest percentages of Black registered
voters in the country.
Tragically, three civil rights volunteers lost their lives in their
attempts to secure voting rights for Blacks. Andrew Goodman was a White
20-year-old anthropology major from Queens College who volunteered for
the Freedom Summer project. James Chaney was a 21-year-old Black man
from Meridian, MS, who became a civil rights activist, joining the CORE
in 1963 to work on voter registration and education. Michael ``Mickey''
Schwerner was a 24-year-old White man from Brooklyn, NY, who was a CORE
field secretary in Mississippi and a veteran of the civil rights
movement.
On the morning of June 21, 1964, the three men left the CORE office
in Meridian, MS, and set out for Longdale, MS, where they were to
investigate the recent burning of the Mount Zion Methodist Church, a
Black church that had been functioning as a freedom school to promote
education and voter registration. The three civil rights workers were
beaten, shot, and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, after being
turned over by local police.
The national uproar in response to these brave men's deaths, which
occurred shortly before enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
helped build the momentum and national consensus necessary to bring
about passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
So as we celebrate the anniversaries of these landmarks pieces of
civil rights legislation, we are reminded that there is more work to be
done. As former Senator Ted Kennedy used to say, ``Civil rights is the
great unfinished business of America.''
One year ago this week the Supreme Court issued its decision in
Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down section 4 of the Voting
Rights Act, invalidating the coverage formula that determines which
jurisdictions are subject to the preclearance provisions of the act.
Congress must act to reverse the erroneous decision by the Supreme
Court which overturned several important
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precedents in a fit of judicial activism. As much as we wish it wasn't
so, racism has not disappeared from America and there continue to be
individuals and groups who would use our voting system to deliberately
minimize the rights of minority voters. Congress overwhelmingly
reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006 after building an extensive
record that made a compelling case for the continued need to protect
minority voters from discrimination. I strongly agree with Justice
Ginsburg's dissent that `in truth, the evolution of voting
discrimination into more subtle second-generation barriers is powerful
evidence that a remedy as effective as preclearance remains vital to
protect minority voting rights and prevent backsliding.' '' I am deeply
disappointed that the Court put voting rights in jeopardy by ignoring
reality and disregarding the power of Congress to enforce the 15th
Amendment of the Constitution by appropriate legislation.
I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week on
potential legislative responses to the Supreme Court's decision in
Shelby County v. Holder, and I hope Congress can take up and pass a
legislative fix before the midterm elections.
Congress should also take up and pass the Democracy Restoration Act,
DRA, S. 2235, which I have introduced. The Democracy Restoration Act
would restore voting rights in Federal elections to approximately 5.8
million citizens who have been released from prison and are back living
in their communities.
After the Civil War, Congress enacted and the States ratified the
15th Amendment, which provides 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. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.''
Unfortunately, many States passed laws during the Jim Crow period
after the Civil War to make it more difficult for newly freed slaves to
vote in elections. Such laws included poll taxes, literacy tests, and
disenfranchisement measures.
Some disenfranchisement measures applied to misdemeanor convictions
and in practice could result in lifetime disenfranchisement, even for
individuals that successfully reintegrated into their communities as
law-abiding citizens.
Shortly thereafter Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
which swept away numerous State laws and procedures that had denied
African Americans and other minorities their constitutional right to
vote. For example, the act outlawed the use of literacy or history
tests that voters had to pass before registering to vote or casting
their ballot.
The act specifically prohibits States from imposing any ``voting
qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or
procedure . . . . . to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the
United States to vote on account of race or color.'' Congress
overwhelmingly reauthorized the act in 2006, which was signed into law
by President George W. Bush. Congress is now working on legislation to
revitalize the VRA after recent Supreme Court decisions curtailed its
reach.
In 2014, I am concerned that there are still several areas where the
legacy of Jim Crow laws and State disenfranchisement statutes lead to
unfairness in Federal elections. First, State laws governing the
restoration of voting rights vary widely throughout the country, such
that persons in some States can easily regain their voting rights,
while in other States persons effectively lose their right to vote
permanently. Second, these State disenfranchisement laws have a
disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities. Third, this
patchwork of State laws results in the lack of a uniform standard for
eligibility to vote in Federal elections, and leads to an unfair
disparity and unequal participation in Federal elections based solely
on residence. Finally, studies indicate that former prisoners who have
voting rights restored are less likely to reoffend, and
disenfranchisement hinders their rehabilitation and reintegration into
their community.
In 35 States, convicted individuals may not vote while they are on
parole. In 11 States, a conviction can result in lifetime
disenfranchisement. Several States require prisoners to seek
discretionary pardons from Governors, or action by the parole or pardon
board, in order to regain their right to vote. Several States deny the
right to vote to individuals convicted of certain misdemeanors. States
are slowly moving to repeal or loosen many of these barriers to voting
for ex-prisoners.
An estimated 5,850,000 citizens of the United States, or about 1 in
40 adults in the United States, currently cannot vote as a result of a
felony conviction. Of the 5,850,000 citizens barred from voting, only
25 percent are in prison. By contrast, 75 percent of the
disenfranchised reside in their communities while on probation or
parole after having completed their sentences. Approximately 2,600,000
citizens who have completed their sentences remain disenfranchised due
to restrictive State laws. In six states--Alabama, Florida, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia--more than 7 percent of the total
population is disenfranchised.
Studies show that a growing number of African-American men, for
example, will be disenfranchised at some point in their life, partly
due to mandatory minimum sentencing laws that have a disproportionate
impact on minorities. Latino citizens are disproportionately
disenfranchised as well.
Congress has addressed part of this problem by enacting the Fair
Sentencing Act to partially reduce the sentencing disparity between
crack cocaine and powder cocaine convictions. Congress is now
considering legislation that would more broadly revise mandatory
sentencing procedures and create a fairer system of sentencing. While I
welcome these steps, I believe that Congress should take stronger
action now to remedy this particular problem.
The legislation would restore voting rights to prisoners after their
release from incarceration. It requires that prisons receiving Federal
funds notify people about their right to vote in Federal elections when
they are leaving prison, sentenced to probation, or convicted of a
misdemeanor.
The legislation is narrowly crafted to apply to Federal elections,
and retains the States' authorities to generally establish voting
qualifications. This legislation is consistent with congressional
authority under the Constitution and voting rights statutes.
I am pleased that this legislation has been endorsed by a large
coalition of public interest organizations, including civil rights and
reform organizations; religious and faith-based organizations; and law
enforcement and criminal justice organizations.
In particular I want to thank the Brennan Center for Justice, the
ACLU, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the
NAACP for their work on this legislation.
This legislation is designed to reduce recidivism rates and help
reintegrate ex-prisoners back into society. When prisoners are
released, they are expected to obey the law, get a job, and pay taxes
as they are rehabilitated and reintegrated into their community. With
these responsibilities and obligations of citizenship should also come
the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote.
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Second Chance Act into
law, after overwhelming approval and strong bipartisan support in
Congress. The legislation expanded the Prison Re-Entry Initiative, by
providing job training, placement services, transitional housing, drug
treatment, medical care, and faith-based mentoring.
At the signing ceremony, President Bush said: ``We believe that even
those who have struggled with a dark past can find brighter days ahead.
One way we act on that belief is by helping former prisoners who have
paid for their crimes. We help them build new lives as productive
members of our society.''
The Democracy Restoration Act is fully consistent with the goals of
the Second Chance Act, as Congress and the States seek to reduce
recidivism rates, strengthen the quality of life in our communities and
make them safer, and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
More recently, in a February 2014 speech, Attorney General Eric
Holder called on elected officials to reexamine disenfranchisement
statutes and enact reforms to restore voting rights.
I urge Congress to continue the fight to protect and expand civil
rights in
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this country, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer
and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and as we strive to make this a more
perfect union.
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