Elijah Lewis: “I rise tonight at this hour during this special order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the voting rights campaign…”

“I rise tonight at this hour during this special order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the voting rights campaign of 1965. Thirty years ago this day, March 7, 1965, was a turning point in the struggle for the right to vote in the American South. In commemorating the voting rights campaign of 1965, we honor the great sacrifices many people made to secure voting rights for all Americans. Now, Mr. Speaker, you must keep in mind that during another period in our history, during the 1960's, there were certain political subdivisions in the 11 Southern States of the old South, from Virginia to Texas, where 50 to 80 percent of the population was black, and there was not a single black registered voter. The practice used by whites to keep blacks out of their political process ranged from economic retaliation to outright murder. In many instances brutal acts of violence were directed against those who tried to register to vote. Those few who were allowed to register were harassed, intimidated, and even beaten when they tried to exercise their precious right to vote. One State, the State of Mississippi, had a black voting-age population of more than 450,000, and only 16,000 blacks were registered to vote. In one county in Alabama, Lowndes County, between Selma and Montgomery, AL, the county was more than 80 percent black, and there was not a single registered black voter.”