House Republicans Want to Block Civil Rights Act of 1965
In a procedural vote yesterday, the House Republican Leaders voted to delay renewal of the landmark 1965 Civil Rights Act. This law guaranteed voting rights for blacks and other racial minorities. Apparently these Republicans want to roll back forty years of history. Click here to view the story in the Detriot Free Press.
This landmark civil rights legislation eliminated poll taxes and other state measures designed to prevent free access to voting polls by blacks and other minorities. It also set up special monitoring provisions for seven southern states, Arizona and Alaska where discrimatory provisions blatently used to prevent poll access by minorities. Please remember that this was the era of Goldwater Republican influence in Arizona and there was considerable supoport on the part of Arizona Republicans for maintaining racial imbalances in legal matters.