Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Gains and Pains
Read about the legal gains made by the civil rights movement, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, juxtaposed against the real-life actions meant to deny African Americans their right to racial equality not just legally, but...
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.
US National Archives
Docsteach: To What Extent Was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 2)
This activity is a continuation of the lesson for Part 1. In it, young scholars will examine the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and determine whether their analysis of this document changes their responses to the guiding question in Part 1...
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.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Securing the Right to Vote: Selma to Montgomery Story
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson plan asking this essential question: "What conditions created a need for a protest march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and what did that march achieve?"
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Read about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which sought to make discrimination illegal, and the resistance they faced from the public and government officials. As time passed, African Americans began to...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: The First March From Selma
This article details a key event in the civil rights struggle--the demonstration organized by the Rev. Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965, when 525 people met a police blockade on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
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...
Center For Civic Education
Center for Civic Education: Becoming a Voter
In this lesson plan, students apply their state's requirements for registering to vote. Students learn when and how to register, how to complete a voter registration form, and when and how to reregister.
Black Past
Black Past: Wilkins, Roy
This encyclopedia entry recounts briefly the life of Roy Wilkins, a very influential civil rights leader.
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...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Martin Luther King, Jr.
A brief biography of civil rights hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. This article touches on his early life, but focuses on his actions as a leader of nonviolent change to bring equality to African Americans. Find a speech given by Robert...
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.
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Voting Rights Act of 1965
This collection uses primary sources to explore the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.
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.
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...