High School History Teacher
It is hard to believe that a sort 50 years ago literacy test such as this Alabama state literacy test were required for a US citizen to be able to vote. Though the Civil War had abolished slavery and put all Americans, black or white, on the same level, racial antagonisms still existed a century later. Jim Crow laws prevents African Americans from enjoying the same life that white Americans enjoyed, and lingering racial prejudice led to a system of separation between the races.
Segregation, unfair treatment, the threat of racial violence, and test like this one became part of a system in the South with the focus of preventing African Americans from achieving any level of success. Separate but equal was the doctrine used to circumvent the 14th amendment which guaranteed equal rights to all US citizens. Life for blacks and whites in the South was separate, but never equal. Inferior schools, public services, and job opportunists repressed African Americans. This test stands as a stark reminded to what level people were willing to go to to oppress the African American community. Difficult language and questions worked in unison to keep a African American from voting. Already a victim of a poorly supported segregation school system, the makers of the test took every step they could do disenfranchise African American voters.
Luckily, the system of racial intolerance had men and women willing to stand up to it. Famous figures such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Medgar Evers are just a few of the famous figures who fought along side the many unnamed men and women who stood up to fight the injustices in America. On August 10th, 1965 one of the victories of the Civil Rights movement came about. Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests such as the Alabama literacy test, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict African Americans voting are made illegal.
50 years later American is still dealing with many of the issues that the men and women of the civil rights movement fought for. Life for African Americans in America has made progress, but there is still some ways to go. As educators, it is important to make sure that our students are aware of the past, and what people went through in order to secure the basic liberties for all Americans. In much the same way we teach the American Revolution and how it created the foundation of rights for Americans, it is important to talk about the Civil Rights Movement, and it's continuing struggle to ensure that the inalienable rights guaranteed by our Constitution are applied fairly to all Americans.
