Voting Rights Act Signed Into Law Today in 1965

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African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch; sign reads “We demand the right to vote everywhere.” Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law today in 1965. Conservatives began work to chip away at it immediately, culminating in the 2013 Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder which, in the New York Times‘ words, “effectively struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act.”