THAT SECTION IS EXPECTED TO BE FINISHED AND BACK OPEN BY FALL. TODAY MARKS 60 YEARS SINCE THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW – AND A MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS TRAILBLAZER IS REFLECTING ON THE MILESTONE. THE ACT WAS CREATED TO GUARANTEE CITIZENSHIP, DUE PROCESS, EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW – AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE RIGHT TO VOTE. PASSED IN RESPONSE TO DECADES OF VOTER SUPPRESSION IN THE 1960S…MISSISSIPPI’S FIRST BLACK WOMAN ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION SAYS SHE HAS MIXED EMOTIONS LOOKING BACK ON HOW FAR WE’VE COME – AND HOW FAR WE STILL HAVE TO GO.
Mississippi civil rights pioneer marks 60th anniversary of Voting Rights Act
Mississippi’s first Black woman elected to public office says more needs to be done
Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act being signed into law.The act is designed to ensure citizenship, due process, equal protection under the law, and the right to vote. It was passed in response to voter suppression in the 1960s.Decades later, Mississippi’s first Black woman elected to public office since the Reconstruction era says she has conflicted feelings about the time that has passed since then.”I have mixed emotions,” Flonzie Brown Wright said. “We’ve seen many gains. We’ve seen some challenges. In the landscape that we’re looking at today, we’re facing more challenges. I’m afraid there are more to come.”
Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act being signed into law.
The act is designed to ensure citizenship, due process, equal protection under the law, and the right to vote. It was passed in response to voter suppression in the 1960s.
Decades later, Mississippi’s first Black woman elected to public office since the Reconstruction era says she has conflicted feelings about the time that has passed since then.
“I have mixed emotions,” Flonzie Brown Wright said. “We’ve seen many gains. We’ve seen some challenges. In the landscape that we’re looking at today, we’re facing more challenges. I’m afraid there are more to come.”
