[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2535-2536]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SELMA VOTING RIGHTS

  (Mr. CARNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

[[Page 2536]]


  Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 50th anniversary 
of the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery and to urge my 
colleagues to pass voting rights legislation in this Congress.
  In 1960, there were only 66,000 African Americans registered to vote 
in Alabama. In 1965, there were 15,000 Black residents of Dallas 
County, Alabama, where Selma is located, but fewer than 200 were 
registered to vote. African Americans who attempted to vote faced 
intimidation, discrimination, and worse.
  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the unrelenting efforts of heroes 
like our colleague from Georgia, John Lewis, helped correct these 
injustices. But the fight isn't over. State legislation, ballot 
initiatives, and court cases across the country in recent years have 
jeopardized the voter registration protections that John Lewis and 
others fought so hard for.
  We need to stay vigilant, and we need new legislation today. As we 
celebrate Black History Month, let's recognize how far we have come. 
Let's pass voting rights legislation in this Congress for the good of 
the country.

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