Texas Social Justice Series: The Right to Vote

This four-part series concludes with a program on perhaps the most important right afforded to American citizens—the right to vote. The program is meant to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth, when the news of emancipation finally reached slaves in Texas. 

Panelists will explore the historic events leading up to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of legislation which aimed to enforce the voting rights enumerated in the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. Discussion also cover historic disenfranchisement of racial minorities, the impacts of the Voting Rights Act in Texas and current court decisions related to the law.