Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Jim Crow Riding High: The Latest Assaults On African American Voting Rights, Richard K. Scher

Center for the Study of Race & Race Relations: Lectures and Events

The aftermath of the shooting of Trayvon Martin raises serious issues about a possible double standard between the enforcement of civil rights for African-Americans and white Americans. This paper discusses two key voting rights – hence, civil rights - enforcement issues, voter suppression and disenfranchisement. While the 1965 Voting Rights Act guarantees the right to vote to all qualified Americans, there is substantial evidence that this right is often denied minorities. It has included strenuous efforts to suppress the black vote. How extensive is this effort, and what effect did suppression have on recent elections, including the Presidential election of …