Historian Carol Anderson on the assault to undermine voting rights

Fifty-seven years ago this week, on Aug. 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act, with Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders looking on. It was a turning point in American history. At the time, Pres. Johnson called it “a victory of freedom for the nation.”

Thursday morning, in a special edition of Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller examined whether the commitment of that milestone legislation still holds all these years later, particularly as the Supreme Court takes on one case that could upend state election laws and another that challenges a key section of the Voting Rights Act. Her guide was Professor Carol Anderson, one of the nation’s foremost scholars on equity and voting and the author of “One Person, No Vote.”

Guest:

• Carol Anderson is a professor of African-American studies at Emory University and an accomplished author.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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