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Voting Rights Act of 1965

Name: Ain't I a Woman? (1851 Akron Speech)
Author: Sojourner Truth

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

Ain't I a Woman? (1851 Akron Speech)

Sojourner Truth

1851

Enslavement

3-Minute Summary

Truth's speech at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, connecting the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements. She challenged the argument that women were too delicate for equal rights by pointing to her own experience of enslaved labor.

Why It Matters

Truth's speech is the foundational text of intersectional feminism — the argument that race and gender cannot be separated. Her question 'Ain't I a woman?' remains one of the most powerful rhetorical challenges in American history.

Important Passages

'Ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman?'

Where to Read

Library of Congress (free)

Verified: Library of Congress

Key People

Sojourner Truth

Frances Gage

Frederick Douglass

Key Policies & Events

AbolitionismWomen's suffrageIntersectionality

Related FBA Leaders

Sojourner Truth

All 100 Readings Enslavement Collection