Bill Clinton: “I am also here to voice my support for the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act…”

“I am also here to voice my support for the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006. It is so fitting that this legislation reauthorizing this landmark Civil Rights Act would be named for three women who are so well known as heroines of the struggle for civil rights in our own country. Thousands of Americans risked their lives, and some unfortunately lost them, during the civil rights movement to challenge an electoral system that prevented millions of our fellow citizens from exercising their constitutional right to vote. After a long struggle by activists and everyday citizens, President Johnson introduced and eventually signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. I vividly remember the day, 41 years ago, when I sat in front of our little black and white television set and watched President Johnson announce the signing into law of the Voting Rights Act. He opened his speech to the Nation that night with these memorable words: I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. That was the culmination of a long struggle which continues even now because we still must work vigilantly to make certain that those who try to vote are allowed to do so, and that we keep watch to guarantee that every vote is counted. President Johnson was right all those years ago.…”