August 6, 1965Primary sourceWell documented
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
On the timeline · around August 6, 1965 ·
What happened
After marchers were beaten on 'Bloody Sunday' in Selma, Alabama, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, banning the literacy tests and other devices used to disenfranchise Black voters and authorizing federal oversight of elections in the worst-offending areas.
Why it matters
The Act finally gave real force to the Fifteenth Amendment, producing a dramatic rise in Black voter registration and political power across the South — one of the most effective civil rights laws ever passed.
Sources
Related timelines
- History of Democracy → — Extending the right to vote