Mayor Domenic J. Sarno joined with Congressman Richard E. Neal, State Representative Bud L. Williams, State Senator James T. Welch, City Councilors Brown, Gomez, Lederman and Whitfield, and NAACP President Bishop Talbert Swan on the front steps of City Hall to celebrate the 55th Anniversary of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 and honor the memory of the late Congressman John Lewis.
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark federal legislation, which was intended to prohibit racial discrimination in voting practices and protect the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This historic piece of legislation was part of the Civil Rights movement.
Mayor Sarno stated, “The late Congressman John Lewis was one of the major civil rights leaders and icons who championed for the passage of the Civil Rights Act. This vital and groundbreaking federal legislation, which was long overdue, finally provided the federal government with the tools necessary to enforce the 15th Amendment at the state and local level by prohibiting voting practices that impeded an individual’s right to vote based on race or language. I am proud to stand with my colleagues on the local, state and federal level in support of this vital and important legislation. I also stand with them for the call to action to renew the legislations intent of having federal oversight as it pertains to the voting practices that could potentially be adopted on the local and state level that might infringe upon a person’s right to vote.”
