The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

When the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed as a direct result of the leadership of Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement, the African American community gained more protection and say in the democratic process. The Voting Rights Act that was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson prevented states from enacting any type of vote qualification laws that could potentially prevent people of race or color from voting. This was important in the southern states especially that would use a literacy test to try and keep African Americans and other minorities from voting. The Voting Rights Act put the federal government in charge of checking the states to make sure that they were not doing anything to prevent all of its citizens from voting.

On the local level, Dr. King’s work for equal rights helped not only to end segregation against African Americans, but it made the African Americans full citizens by making sure they just as much of a say in the democratic process. The literacy tests were one way in which African Americans were turned away from voting because they could not even register to vote in the first place. According to the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute website, the requirement of literacy tests kept many citizens, especially African Americans, from even being able to register to vote. The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute website writes, “These enforcement provisions applied to states and political subdivisions, mostly in the South that had used a ‘device’ to limit voting and in which less than 50 percent of the population was registered to vote in 1964” (nvrmi.com). In addition, violence was often used by white supremacists to also try to turn African Americans away from voting. The enforcement of the Voting Rights Act helped by ensuring the right of all citizens to vote by  checking the local polling placing to make sure that no one was being discriminated against. This all happened more so at the local level because that is where the individuals would cast their vote.

The legacy that Martin Luther King Jr. left in regards to the Voting Rights Act has continued into today. According to the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, the act has been renewed four separate times. The last renewal and amending happened in 2006 when President Bush extended the law for an additional 25 years. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively worked to ensure that African Americans and other minorities will have a say in the democracy that they live under.

Even though the Voting Rights Act is in full effect today, there is still the overarching fear that African Americans and other minorities will not be afforded their full rights as citizens. For example, some states and local governments are trying to enforce voter identification laws that will require citizens to present their driver’s license or ID card when they vote. Although this seems easy for most, minority groups, especially in low-income areas, are likely to not have a driver’s license because they rely on public transportation. In this way, it could be seen as discrimination against voter registration because some citizens do not already have the ID card. In addition, there is uproar about some churches and other local entities providing transportation to the polling place for people without other means of transportation. Although this is a way to ensure that all citizens have an equal opportunity to cast their vote on election day, many still see it as a way to favor one party over another. These few examples are some among many of ways in which there are still flaws in the Voting Rights Act. No matter how many loop holes that have been tried to be filled, there still seem to be ways in which African Americans and other minorities are being discriminated against at the ballot box.