[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 15, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       THE CONTINUING ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 15, 2016

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today, in honor of Restoration 
Tuesday and March being Women's History month; I rise to acknowledge 
the role of women in the continuing battle for protecting our 
constitutional right to vote.
   The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was only made possible because of the 
brave men and women who marched,--and were willing to die for voting 
equality as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. 
Moreover, the narrative of the battle for voting rights in America is 
incomplete without the story of the strong contributions of the women 
who helped to advance these efforts. Nearly a decade has passed since 
Congress reauthorized the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in July 2006. This 
reauthorization not only continued to guarantee protections against 
modern day voting barriers, it elevated three mothers of the civil 
rights movement in its title: Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta 
Scott King. Honoring these great women who fought for equality and 
justice, this reauthorization stamped a day in time where both parties 
were able to come together and show overwhelming support for the most 
essential right on which this great democracy was founded, the right to 
vote.
   However, when the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 pre-clearance 
and federal protection for vulnerable communities in 2013, a number of 
states, including Alabama, passed restrictive laws designed to suppress 
the vote. It is imperative that we remain ever vigilant in upholding 
the legacy, not only of the historic women for which the 
reauthorization of the Act was named, but of the three women who sat on 
the Supreme Court bench and gave dissenting opinions following the 
tragic Section 4 strike down.
   Whether protesting from the streets or the Supreme Court bench, 
women have long played a vital role in the movement for voting rights 
in America's history. As we celebrate the rich history of women in 
politics during Women's History Month, we honor the conviction and 
determination of women like Susan B. Anthony and Amelia Boynton 
Robinson who fought relentlessly for equality for the ultimate benefit 
of our country as a whole. When women succeed, America succeeds and 
Congress should honor the fight and sacrifice by passing the Voting 
Rights Advancement Act of 2016.
   Fannie Lou Hamer is famous for stating what so many were feeling 
then and still feel now when she said--``I am sick and tired of being 
sick and tired.'' Like the brave women of our past, we all need to be 
sick and tired of injustice and inequality. On this Restoration 
Tuesday, we honor the women who championed the cause of protection of 
our sacred and fundamental right to the polls.

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