Political Quotes

“Mr. President, tomorrow marks the 45th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation which helped guarantee the right to vote to all Americans. As we approach the upcoming midterm elections, it is important to remember the journey of voting rights in America. Without this right, words and phrases like ``democracy,'' ``land of the free,'' and ``equality'' lack true meaning. The right to vote traveled a long ugly road--a road we must all remember. Edmund Burke once said ``those who do not remember history are destined to repeat it.'' Some would say they are doomed to repeat it. For this reason, on this day and every day, we should remember how Americans, Black and White; young and old; men and women; stood, marched and fought together for equal access to the voting booth. We must ensure that all barriers to voting are removed. There are many people who contributed to the voting rights movement. Today I would like to highlight one woman--Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, a woman who was ``sick and tired of being sick and tired'' when it came to the denial of equal voting rights. Hamer, a great American hero, led a life most people could not imagine today. Despite having polio and only 4 months of schooling, Hamer became a matriarch of the voting rights movement. On August 31, 1962, Hamer decided to exercise her constitutional right to vote by traveling 26 miles in Mississippi to register only to be confronted by the highway patrol and literary test requirements.…”