In honor of the upcoming US election on November 6, we've decided to revisit this collection of teaching materials from Teaching Tolerance. This resource was originally featured in the 10-28-2016 issue of the Scout Report, which was a special edition focused on voting. The 1965 Voting Rights Act is an essential part of U.S. voting history and a milestone for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Teaching Tolerance has compiled this collection of classroom activities and resources to help middle school and high school students better understand the circumstances behind the passage of the Voting Rights Act and its significance. These resources include video footage of Lyndon Johnson signing the act into law (part of NBC's archival footage collection), a succinct summary of the key points of the Voting Rights Act, and powerful graphs that show the number of black legislators in the south (1868-1900 and 1960-1992) and the percentage of registered voters in black voting-age population. This website also features resources related to contemporary debates surrounding voting rights in the 1965 law, including information and materials relating to the 2009 and 2013 Supreme Court challenges to the Voting Rights Act.
Archived Scout Publication URL