1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT

WHEREAS, the 1965 Voting Rights Act has been the single most effective tool in protecting the right to vote and assuring the integrity of the voting process in this century; and

WHEREAS, the Voting Rights Act was a specific attack on discriminatory policies against blacks, and the death of this act would be a bitter defeat for blacks and other minorities; and

WHEREAS, in some states, before the passage of the Voting Rights Act, threats of violence and job loss, the poll tax and difficult literacy tests allowed less than 6 percent of eligible blacks to register to vote, in 1980 this figure has risen to 60 percent; and

WHEREAS, the 1965 Voting Rights Act is now under constant attack, and there is clear and convincing evidence that racially discriminatory practices have not been entirely erased in those states under the act's jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS, there have been increased and alarming reports, before and after the 1980 census, of questionable and illegal changes in election procedures in these states, including some 811 proposed changes objected to by the U.S. Justice Department:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, joins with other labor and civil rights organizations to commend the congress for voting the 25-year extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law.