aug 6, 1965 - Voting Rights Act

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On August 6, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into effect. This act was intended to insure the voting rights of Black Americans were maintained. With the act, unfair practices used to prevent Black voters from registering would be banned. These practices included literacy tests and other difficult assessments to prove one was qualified to vote.

The act did not come without a long battle preceding it. Earlier in 1965 on March 7, a peaceful march was held in Selma, Alabama for equal voting rights. However, the participants were met with violence from Alabama State troopers. Later that month, Westfield residents expressed their outrage and despair for the incident with a march and memorial organized by the Westfield Civic Improvement Association, the Westfield Negro History Club, and the Westfield Area Committee for Human Rights.

Despite the victory for Black Americans nationwide, the Act was still met with criticism. While many Westfield residents expressed interest for equal voting rights, there was still opposition. In a letter to the Westfield Leader Peter E. Butler, expresses distaste for the legislation, claiming that the issues it claims to combat were already resolved by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and those in office were using the act for political leverage.

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