US National Archives
Our Documents: Voting Rights Act (1965)
Included at this site is the complete text and images of the original document of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This law outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that African Americans had endured.
Other
Fair Vote: X's and O's: A History of the Voting Rights Act and African Americans
Documented essay on the history of black suffrage in American and the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Other
The Center for Voting & Democracy: The Voting Rights Act
The Center for Voting and Democracy offers a general overview of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Content focuses on Section 2 and Section 5 of the Act, exploring their importance.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to prevent discrimination and protect voting rights. It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, to safeguard the right to vote of Black Americans and ban the use of...
US Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division: Voting Rights Act 1965
Read the amendments to the Voting Rights Act made in 2006. The Congress revisited the original act to assess the progress and what still needed to be addressed.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: A National Struggle: Congress
This two-page segment of a larger PBS site about Jim Crow discusses the role of Congress over close to 100 years in first entrenching Jim Crow laws in the law of the land, and eventually, through the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the...
NBC
Nbc Learn: Finishing the Dream: 1965: We Shall Overcome
A collection of archival video clips highlighting a peaceful protest in Alabama in 1965 that ended in a confrontation with state troopers known as "Bloody Sunday." This was followed by a four-day march with Martin Luther King, Jr., and a...
Library of Congress
Loc: congress.gov: Voting Rights Clarification Act of 2000
Copy of the Voting Rights Clarification Act, introduced in 2000 to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
US National Archives
National Archives: Congress Protects the Right to Vote
Students will draw conclusions regarding actions taken by Congress when passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They will weigh the balance of power between the federal and state governments when protecting the right to vote. Materials...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: The Civil Rights Movement and Voting Rights
Given the voting rights amendments, students will create an annotated time line that illustrates how voting rights have been extended to various groups of people throughout the history of the United States.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Contesting Futures: America in 1960s: Lyndon Johnson and Great Society
Read about the reforms and legislation undertaken through Lyndon B. Johnson's concept of the Great Society. These included economic and educational reforms, consumer protection, changes to immigration laws, and the Voting Rights Act of...
US National Archives
National Archives: To What Extent Was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 2)
This is a continuation of part 1 of the activity "To What Extent was Reconstruction a Revolution?". Students will study the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to see if their opinion changes from the previous activity. Included are whole class...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980:civil Rights Act 1964/voting Rights Act 1965
Learn about the civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination in jobs, education, housing, public accommodations, and voting.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Voting Then, Voting Now
This site explores the voting experiences for African Americans beginning in the Jim Crow era. It shares literacy tests African Americans had to take and other challenges they were given for the right to vote. This denial of the right to...
Digital History
Digital History: Affirmative Action and the Case of Allan Bakke [Pdf]
The history of affirmative action was interwoven with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Read about how the federal government under both President Kennedy and President Nixon attempted to open up jobs to...
Curated OER
History Matters: "And We Shall Overcome": Johnson's Special Message to Congress
Read President Lyndon B. Johnson's speech before the the Congress in support of the Voting Rights Act. Feel the passion in his address and his desire to further racial equality.
US Government Publishing Office
Ben's Guide to u.s. Government: Learning Adventures: The History and Process of Voting
Learning adventures teaches students of all ages about the voting process and the history of voting, citing the 15th and 19th Amendments, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 26th Amendment. Links to the National Archives and voter...
US National Archives
Docsteach: To What Extent Was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 2)
This activity is a continuation of the instructional activity for Part 1. In it, students will examine the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and determine whether their analysis of this document changes their responses to the guiding question in...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Race and Voting in the Segregated South
Article and activity in which students read and analyze the historic challenges faced by African Americans as they sought to gain an unimpeded right to vote in the segregated South followed by activity asking students to evaluate current...
Curated OER
National Park Service: International Civil Rights Walk of Fame: Lyndon Johnson
Read about President Lyndon Johnson's on how to end poverty in the United States as well as how to protect civil rights.
Other
Center for Voting and Democracy Glossary
Brief and informative description of the Voting Act of 1965, as well as other definitions related to equal opportunity in voting.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil Rights Leader
Students will explore how King's deep-seated commitment to nonviolence contributed to the expansion of social justice in the United States, particularly for African Americans.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Selected (9) reading passages (grades 10-12) to pair with "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. In this novel about family connections and racial equality, Lily Owens and Rosaleen, Lily's housekeeper, run away to Tiburon, South...
Alabama Humanities Foundation
Encyclopedia of Alabama: Selma to Montgomery March
One of the most famous events in Civil Rights history, this report covers the Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights.