Bill Text: MI SR0137 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: A resolution to acknowledge the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-09-01 - Adopted [SR0137 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-SR0137-Enrolled.html
As adopted by
senate, September 1, 2020
senate resolution no.137
Senator Hertel, Ananich, Geiss and Wojno offered the following resolution:
A resolution to acknowledge the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Whereas, The fundamental, undergirding principle of democracy is the immutable right for all citizens to participate in the voting process; and
Whereas, When this principle freedom is endangered, it is incumbent upon all citizens to demand relief from any threat of disenfranchisement; and
Whereas, Congress ratified the 15th Amendment 150 years ago, declaring that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude; and
Whereas, In 1870, during reconstruction, the first African Americans were elected to serve in state, local, and federal offices, and in unison, the 41st Congress of the United States seated its first African American Senator, Hiram Revels; regrettably, there would be almost nine decades until the next African American was elected to the United States Senate; and
Whereas, Between 1870 and 1965, voters faced “first-generation barriers” such as poll taxes, literacy tests, vouchers of “good character,” disqualification for “crimes of moral turpitude”, and other tactics intended to keep African Americans from registering to vote and casting ballots on Election Day; and
Whereas, By 1910, violence and intimidation resulted in the disenfranchisement of several black citizens with their removal from the voting polls in former Confederate States, undermining the promise of equal protection under the law; and
Whereas, During the 1920s, African Americans in Selma, Alabama formed the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL); and
Whereas, In the 1960s, in partnership with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the DCVL held registration drives and classes to help African Americans in Dallas County pass the literacy tests required to register to vote; and
Whereas, On February 26, 1965, civil rights activist, Jimmy Lee Jackson died after he was brutally beaten and shot by an Alabama State Trooper during a peaceful protest for voting rights. His death was the impetus for the first Selma to Montgomery March; and
Whereas, On Sunday, March 7, 1965, the first march from Selma to Montgomery took place, of which was led by John Lewis, with approximately 600 hundred participants; and
Whereas, Several armed Alabama State Troopers, some on horseback, attacked the marchers with nightsticks, tear gas, and whips as the marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge; and
Whereas, The march, known today as “Bloody Sunday” for the horrific attack on peaceful marchers, sparked national outrage as it was broadcast on nationwide television. This led to a national outcry for the passage of the Voting Rights Act; and
Whereas, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965, which provided federal oversight of voter registration and the elimination of poll taxes; and
Whereas, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is still recognized as landmark, bi-partisan legislation and regarded as one of the most effective civil rights laws ever written. It would be amended five times to offer more protections as well; and
Whereas, This historic legislation passed with the intent to ban discriminatory voting policies at all levels of government and stand as a guardian for every American's right to vote; and
Whereas, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is credited for the enfranchisement of millions of Black Indigenous People of Color as well as the diversification of the electorate and legislative bodies throughout all levels of government; and
Whereas, In June 2013, the Supreme Court struck down key sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that were designed to prevent discriminatory voting policies that disenfranchise Black Indigenous People of Color voters; and
Whereas, Despite 55 years of progress, Black Indigenous People of Color continue to face voting barriers in jurisdictions with a history of discrimination; and
Whereas, In order to build a more perfect union, we must continue to advance the cause of voter equality, advocate for equal access to the political process, and protect the voting rights of every American; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we acknowledge the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, while also honoring and remembering all those who struggled and died for this freedom.
