Six decades after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the legal framework designed to protect African Americans at the ballot box remains under sustained pressure. What began as a hard won legislative breakthrough has since faced a series of court decisions that legal experts say have systematically weakened its original intent, leaving millions of voters increasingly vulnerable to discrimination.
Attorney Portia Wood has spent years examining this pattern, and her findings paint a troubling picture of how far the protections of the act have been walked back since its signing.
The law that changed everything and what happened next
The Voting Rights Act was one of the most consequential pieces of civil rights legislation in American history. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, it aimed to eliminate the literacy tests, poll taxes and bureaucratic hurdles that had long been used to keep Black Americans away from the polls across the South.
For a time, it worked. Voter registration among Black Americans surged in the years following the act’s passage. But the momentum would not go unchallenged. Over the next six decades, a series of legal and legislative battles steadily chipped away at its most powerful provisions, a process Wood describes not as accidental drift but as a calculated effort.
2 Supreme Court decisions that redefined the rules
Two cases, in particular, stand out as turning points in this ongoing legal struggle.
The first is Shelby County v. Holder (2013), widely considered the most damaging blow to the Voting Rights Act in its history. The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively gutted Section 5 of the act, which had required states and localities with a documented history of racial discrimination to obtain federal approval before changing their voting laws. Once that requirement was removed, several states moved quickly to implement new restrictions.
The second is Louisiana v. Callais (2021), a redistricting case that further illustrated how judicial decisions can be used to dilute the political power of Black voters. The case reinforced a growing trend of courts prioritizing state authority over federal civil rights protections, making it harder to challenge maps and laws that critics say disadvantage minority communities.
Together, these two decisions represent a broader shift in how the courts have approached the balance between state control and federal oversight of elections.
Why the AFRO’s role in this fight matters
One institution that has remained consistent in its coverage of these legal battles is the AFRO, one of the oldest and most respected African American newspapers in the country. For decades, the publication has served as a critical record keeper of the struggle for Black political participation, offering analysis and context that mainstream outlets often overlook.
Its continued reporting on voting rights cases has helped keep communities informed at a time when the legal landscape is shifting quickly and often quietly.
What the next generation needs to know
Young voters between the ages of 18 and 49 are increasingly at the center of this conversation. Many grew up after the peak of the civil rights movement and may not fully understand the history behind the protections that remain or those that have already been lost.
Education advocates argue that understanding the legal history of voting rights is not just an academic exercise. It is essential preparation for civic participation. Knowing which protections exist, which have been removed and what cases are currently working their way through the courts gives voters the tools to push back.
The fight is far from finished
The Voting Rights Act is now 60 years old, but the rights it was designed to protect are not guaranteed. Each new legislative session and each new court term brings the possibility of further erosion or, for those fighting to strengthen the law, new opportunities to restore what has been lost.
What is clear is that this is not a fight that can be left to attorneys and legislators alone. Sustained community engagement, awareness and participation remain the most powerful tools available to those who believe that access to the ballot should be equal, protected and permanent.
