August 1965
President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, outlawing discriminatory voting practices and authorizing federal oversight of elections in jurisdictions with histories of discrimination. Section 5 required preclearance from the Justice Department for any changes to voting laws in covered states. Black voter registration in the South increased by over 700,000 within a year.
Federal protection of the ballot finally enforces the 15th Amendment.
Events
- August 6, 1965Voting Rights Act of 1965 Signed into Law
President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, outlawing discriminatory voting practices and authorizing federal oversight of elections in jurisdictions with histories of discrimination. Section 5 required preclearance from the Justice Department for any changes to voting laws in covered states. Black voter registration in the South increased by over 700,000 within a year.
- August 20, 1965Jonathan Daniels Shot Dead by Deputy Sheriff Tom Coleman in Hayneville
Episcopal seminary student Jonathan Daniels was shot dead by unpaid special deputy Tom Coleman with a shotgun in Hayneville, Alabama, as he pushed 17-year-old Ruby Sales out of the way. Daniels had been jailed with other civil rights workers and released hours earlier. Coleman was acquitted by an all-white jury after deliberating less than two hours.
- August 6, 1965The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Federal protection of the ballot finally enforces the 15th Amendment.
- August 11, 1965The Watts uprising
Six days of unrest in Los Angeles expose Northern racial inequality.