LiberationPrimary SourceFBA Grio Verified Source

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Name: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral
Author: Phillis Wheatley

United States Congress

1965

Liberation

3-Minute Summary

Prohibited discriminatory voting practices that had disenfranchised Black voters for nearly a century. Section 5 required jurisdictions with histories of discrimination to obtain federal preclearance before changing voting laws — a provision gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013.

Why It Matters

The Voting Rights Act restored what the 15th Amendment had promised in 1870. Its partial dismantling in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) demonstrates that civil rights gains are not permanent without continued vigilance.

Important Passages

'No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.'

Where to Read

Congress.gov (free)

Verified: National Archives, Congress.gov

Key People

Lyndon B. Johnson

John Lewis

Fannie Lou Hamer

Selma marchers

Key Policies & Events

Section 5 preclearanceLiteracy test banFederal examinersShelby County v. Holder (2013)

Related FBA Leaders

John Lewis Fannie Lou Hamer

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

Phillis Wheatley

1773

Foundations

3-Minute Summary

The first book published by an African American and the first by an American woman of any race. Wheatley was enslaved in Boston when she published this collection, which was examined by a panel of eighteen prominent Boston men — including John Hancock — who certified her authorship.

Why It Matters

Wheatley's book demolished the argument that Black people were incapable of intellectual achievement. Her examination by Boston's elite — who had to certify that an enslaved woman could have written the poems — is itself a document of American racism.

Important Passages

'In every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance.'

Where to Read

Project Gutenberg (free)

Verified: Library of Congress

Key People

Phillis Wheatley

John Wheatley

John Hancock

George Washington

Key Policies & Events

Colonial slaveryAbolitionismAmerican Revolution

All 100 Readings Foundations Collection