Key facts
- Survivors of civil rights activists who died for voting rights are expressing dismay over recent Supreme Court decisions.
- These decisions have weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was a key legislative achievement.
- Families feel the sacrifices of their loved ones, who died violently in the struggle for civil rights, are being disregarded.
- Recent actions by state legislatures have led to the elimination of majority-Black congressional districts.
- The Supreme Court's 2013 decision and a subsequent ruling in April are cited as major steps in rolling back voting rights protections.
Survivors of individuals who died in the struggle for voting and civil rights are expressing profound disappointment and anger as they perceive the nation is moving backward on these issues. They feel that recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly one in April, have significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the very law their loved ones sacrificed their lives to help enact.
Anthony Liuzzo, whose mother Viola Liuzzo was killed in 1965 while driving civil rights marchers, stated that the bill his mother's blood is on is now effectively gone. Critics of the law, including Chief Justice John Roberts in a 2013 decision, argue that times have changed. However, survivors like Lisa McNair, whose sister Denise died in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, are physically sickened by the Supreme Court's actions and subsequent legislative changes, questioning the persistent hatred directed towards Black people.
Cassie Schwerner, granddaughter of civil rights activist Stephen Schwerner, noted that the 2013 Supreme Court decision allowed states with discriminatory voting histories to alter laws without federal approval. She views the recent April decision with rage and sadness for the country, emphasizing that work remains to be done. Tamara Orange, daughter of Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was shot during a voting rights protest in 1965, expressed a sense of relief that her father and others who died are not alive to witness what she considers a reversal of their sacrifices, feeling their efforts may have been in vain.