In the Spirit of Sankofa and Update!
.......Thank you for these well done minutes sister Proverbs31Woman...btw, we've got a little something to talk about this Saturday with President Obama getting Osama Bin Laden, see you there.
Politics From The Black Perspective
MEETING SYNOPSIS
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Background
The Voting Rights Act (VR Act) bans racial discrimination in voting practices by the federal government as well as by state and local governments.
Passed in 1965 after a century of deliberate and violent denial of the vote to African-Americans in the South and Latinos in the Southwest – as well as many years of entrenched electoral systems that shut out citizens with limited fluency in English – the VRA is often held up as the most effective civil rights law ever enacted. It is widely regarded as enabling the enfranchisement of millions of minority voters and diversifying the electorate and legislative bodies at all levels of American government.
Congress has reauthorized the VRA five times, most recently in 2006, when both the House and the Senate approved the measure overwhelmingly in a bipartisan manner. Congress conducted over 20 hearings, heard from over 50 expert witnesses, and collected over 17,000 pages of testimony documenting the continued need for and constitutionality of the statute.
The 2006 reauthorization renewed several key protections, Election Day monitors, and Justice Department pre-approval of voting changes. The protections are currently set to expire in 2031.
Group discussion ensued on the following highlights:
- Current controversies relating to Section 5 of the VR Act
- The possibile weakening or abolishment of the VR Act
- The vulnerability minorities are opened up to with its current renewal agreement
- Section 5 covers Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia with the exception of eight counties and three cities in Virginia – Should other states be included?
- Advantages to all minorities collectively working together to ensure Congress maintains the integrity of the Act
Group discussed and agreed to table this topic and work on the following action items:
- Identify a Political Action Committee (PAC) group
- Spread awareness of the impact of the VR Act to the Destee.com community and other communities at large
- Explore collaborative opportunities to strengthen our charge and push this referendum forward
- Develop a white paper to our respective State representatives and other parties of political influence
Respectfully Submitted By:
Proverbs31Woman
.......Thank you for these well done minutes sister Proverbs31Woman...btw, we've got a little something to talk about this Saturday with President Obama getting Osama Bin Laden, see you there.
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