A vivid and fast-paced history, Gary May's Bending toward Justice offers a dramatic account of the birth and precarious life of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It is an extraordinary story of the intimidation and murder of courageous activists who struggled to ensure that all Americans would be able to exercise their right to vote. May outlines the divisions within the Civil Rights Movement, describes the relationship between President Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr., and captures the congressional politics of the 1960s. Bending toward Justice is especially timely, given that the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 invalidated a key section of the Voting Rights Act. As May shows, the fight for voting rights is by no means over.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Prologue: The Most Powerful Instrument ix
Preface to the Paperback Edition xxiii
1. Planting the Seed 1
2. An Ideal Place 25
3. "Give Us the Ballot!" 53
4. Nothing Can Stop Us 85
5. To the Promised Land 125
6. The Die is Cast 149
7. Breaking Down Injustice 171
8. Where the Votes Are 203
9. The Struggle of a Lifetime 237
Acknowledgments 255
Notes 257
Index 303
