President Obama’s Letter to the Editor
For the cover story of our Aug. 2 issue, Jim Rutenberg wrote about efforts over the last 50 years to dismantle the protections in the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
the landmark piece of legislation that cleared barriers between black
voters and the ballot. The story surveyed a broad sweep of history and
characters, from United States Chief Justice John Roberts to ordinary
citizens like 94-year-old Rosanell Eaton, a plaintiff in the current
North Carolina case arguing to repeal voting restrictions enacted in
2013. The magazine received an unusual volume of responses to this
article, most notably from President Barack Obama.
I was inspired to read about unsung American heroes like Rosanell Eaton in Jim Rutenberg’s ‘‘A Dream Undone: Inside the 50-year campaign to roll back the Voting Rights Act.’’
‘‘We
the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union.
...’’ It’s a cruel irony that the words that set our democracy in
motion were used as part of the so-called literacy test designed to deny
Rosanell and so many other African-Americans the right to vote. Yet
more than 70 years ago, as she defiantly delivered the Preamble to our
Constitution, Rosanell also reaffirmed its fundamental truth. What makes
our country great is not that we are perfect, but that with time,
courage and effort, we can become more perfect. What makes America
special is our capacity to change.
Nearly
three decades after Rosanell testified to her unbroken faith in this
country, that faith was vindicated. The Voting Rights Act put an end to
literacy tests and other forms of discrimination, helping to close the
gap between our promise that all of us are created equal and our long
history of denying some of us the right to vote. The impact was
immediate, and profound — the percentage of African-Americans registered
to vote skyrocketed in the years after the Voting Rights Act was
passed.
But
as Rutenberg chronicles, from the moment the ink was dry on the Voting
Rights Act, there has been a concentrated effort to undermine this
historic law and turn back the clock on its progress. His article puts
the recent push to restrict Americans’ voting rights in its proper
context. These efforts are not a sign that we have moved past the
shameful history that led to the Voting Rights Act. Too often, they are
rooted in that history. They remind us that progress does not come easy,
but that it must be vigorously defended and built upon for ourselves
and future generations.
I
am where I am today only because men and women like Rosanell Eaton
refused to accept anything less than a full measure of equality. Their
efforts made our country a better place. It is now up to us to continue
those efforts. Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act. Our state
leaders and legislatures must make it easier — not harder — for more
Americans to have their voices heard. Above all, we must exercise our
right as citizens to vote, for the truth is that too often we
disenfranchise ourselves.
Rosanell
is now 94 years old. She has not given up. She’s still marching. She’s
still fighting to make real the promise of America. She still believes
that We the People have the awesome power to make our union more
perfect. And if we join her, we, too, can reaffirm the fundamental truth
of the words Rosanell recited.
President Barack Obama, Washington
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