When then Governor George Wallace ordered state troopers to disband the marchers, using tear gas, clubs and whips, President Lyndon Johnson federalized the National Guard and the march continued (Modern 157). The national media coverage of these events led Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voter-registration tests, and authorized federal registration of persons and federally administered voting procedures in any political subdivision or state that discriminated electorally against a particular group (Modern 157).
Nine days after the assassination of King on April 4, 1968, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which banned discrimination in most housing and provided penalties for those attempting to interfere with individual civil rights, thus adding protection for civil rights workers and others (Modern 157). Additional legislation added enforcement provisions to the federal government's rules concerning discriminatory mortgage-lending practices, which means that all lenders must report to the federal government the race, gender, and income of all mortgage-loan seeker, as well as the final decision on their loan application (Modern 158).
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 dramatically increased political participation by African-Americans, and by 1980, some 55.8% of African-Americans of voting age in the South were registered to vote (Modern 158). In the 108th Congress, there were thirty-four African-Americans, and in 1989, Virginia became the first state to elect an African-American governor (Modern 158). In 1989, General Colin Powell became the first African-American to...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now