Give Us The Ballot: The Modern Struggle For Voting Rights In America

"In 1965, LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act, wiping away obstacles that had prevented African-Americans from voting, like literacy tests and poll taxes. But what happened after the VRA became law? In Give Us the Ballot, Ari Berman chronicles five decades of political and ideological fights over voting rights. He argues that the law’s passage birthed a “counterrevolutionary” movement that worked to restrict minority voters through voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, voting purges and other efforts. Berman’s book culminates with the 2013 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision that struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act. The book seems particularly interesting now that we’re in the midst of the first presidential election held since that controversial decision."