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How Did African Americans Get Their Freedom To Vote

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In 1965 80 percent of Lowndes County, Alabama was African American though only a few Blacks were exercising their right to vote. This resulted in a lack of political representation in the area. I believe that Carmichael saw this event as an opportunity to assist Alabama Black Citizens gain representation in a dangerous area. Stokely’s actions in Lowndes County were the backbone of the Black Power Movement is forming. In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965, prohibiting legal barriers at national and local elections that prevented Black Americans from using their freedom to vote. It took a push from local communities for local officials to allow non-discriminatory voting. This was frequently the case in the south because of frequent acts of violence toward Blacks. In Lowndes County, also known as “Bloody Lowndes,” whites would forcefully prevent their African American citizens from voting by threatening their lives with guns, mobs, and simply not educating the black community of their ability to vote. Stokely Carmichael arrived in Lowndes County in 1965, and he walked from door to door explaining that in 1965 a law was passed, giving all Black American citizens the right to vote without the fear of racial discrimination. Carmichael made an effort to put emphasis on the …show more content…

Stokely Carmichael made the effort to increase the voting turnout of African Americans, and the participants of this voting movement were known as members of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization. The Lowndes County Freedom Organization chose to offset the Republican rooster symbol and decided to use a black panther to represent the organization. This is the first appearance of the traditional Black Panther symbol. The black panther organization in Lowndes County and Stokely Carmichael's call for Black Power influenced the founders of the Oakland Black

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