Lynn A. Westmoreland: “in 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to stop the systematic civil rights violations that were the status quo…”

“in 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to stop the systematic civil rights violations that were the status quo in my home State of Georgia and various other States. In those dark days, the Federal Government rightly stepped in to extend the guarantees of our Constitution to every American, regardless of race. Georgians have worked together closely for the past 40 years to heal the wounds of the past, and we have progressed tremendously. Black Georgians today are equal partners, not only in access to the voting booth but also to elected positions of power. In the parts of Georgia that experienced the most oppressive and violent abuses of civil rights, that is in counties and cities where African Americans are a majority, black Georgians are now the leaders of those local communities. African Americans hold a significant portion of the seats in the Georgia legislature, where many have held positions of great influence. Nine of our 34 Statewide elected posts are held by African Americans, a percentage that comes close to mirroring their proportion of the State's population. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker is an African American who has twice won Statewide election to that post. Our Statewide elected labor commissioner is black, as are three justices on our State Supreme Court. Four African Americans hold seats in our 13 member House delegation. Two of those black members defeated white candidates in majority white districts.…”