'Essential progress': Fletcher marks anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) marked the 56th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a tweet Aug. 6. 

Signed on Aug. 6, 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Voting Rights Act served to guarantee African Americans the right to vote. Through the bill, federal, state and local voting restrictions put in place specifically to deny the right to vote for black people were made illegal for any and all elections. 

"President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on this day in 1965 with civil rights leaders as witnesses to this essential progress. Today, we must renew and restore the purpose and promise this day holds with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. #HR4," Fletcher said in her tweet. 

In addition to Fletcher's words, Attorney General Merrick Garland also spoke of the importance of the Voting Rights Act in present-day politics. 

“On this anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we must say again that it is not right to erect barriers that make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote, and it is time for Congress to act again to protect that fundamental right," Garland said in an op-ed piece published in The Washington Post. 

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Garland has repeatedly affirmed the importance of voter equality and rights are of central priority to the Biden administration and has vowed to protect every American's right to democracy, according to Politico. 

Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Johnson made it a priority following his landslide victory in the 1964 election to push for legislation aimed at improving the American way of life, including stronger voting rights laws, according to History.com. And in the midst of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act served to strengthen the 15th Amendment and provide the rights to democracy for all Americans.