The Whole Staircase: Films Celebrating 400 Years of African American History & Culture
Voting Matters (2018)
"More than 50 years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most extensive pieces of civil rights legislation, people of color across the United States still are engaged in a battle to protect their right to vote. VOTING MATTERS follows one dynamic woman working tirelessly on the ground and in the courts to ensure that they are not denied this right.
When a key section of the Voting Rights Act was struck down in 2013, several states with a history of racial discrimination immediately attempted to pass laws that further restricted voter rights. This came in the form of limiting the window for voter registration, purging voters with inactive histories and requiring more restrictive forms of ID. There are currently 23 states with such voter restrictions. This film follows civil rights attorney Donita Judge as she helps several voters in Ohio cast ballots even though they initially were turned away." - distributor's summary
FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "As a lawyer and filmmaker, I am particularly interested in stories that illustrate how the legal system affects the daily lives of everyday people. I constantly work to present people with stories and information that will help them be more civically engaged and gain new perspective." - Dawn Porter
The Library will show this film in preparation for the related speaking engagement by the Supervisor of Elections from Putnam and St. Johns counties. There will not be a formal discussion held immediately after the film's screening in St. Augustine.
All are welcome to this free event!
Screening Dates and Locations
October 10, 2019 at the St. Augustine Campus
Times: 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Library, room L-112
All are welcome to this free event!
September 10, 2019 at the Palatka Campus
Times: 10:50 a.m. - noon and 1:40 p.m. - 2:55 p.m.
Location: Building A, Valhalla Hall
Immediately following the film, Christina Prout, Deputy Supervisor of Election Operations at the Putnam County Supervisor of Elections Office, will do a presentation.
All are welcome to this free event!
If you need an interpreter, please email Dr. Will at least 2 weeks before the event.
October 1, 2019 at the St. Augustine Campus
Times: 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Library, room L-112
All are welcome to this free event!
Related Event: October 3, 2019 The Commemorative Speaker Series - Vicky Oakes, St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections
If you need an interpreter, please email Dr. Will at least 2 weeks before the event.
Film Information - Voting Matters
Run time: 27 minutes
This short documentary is not rated.
Closed captioning and transcript available.
FILMMAKER'S BIOGRAPHY: Dawn Porter is an award-winning filmmaker whose 2013 documentary, "Gideon's Army," won a Sundance Film Festival editing award, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and an Emmy, and later was broadcast on HBO. Dawn's previous films include "Rise: The Promise of My Brother's Keeper," a documentary chronicling President Barack Obama's program to help young men and boys of color succeed, and "Trapped," which explores the impact of laws regulating abortion clinics in the South. "Trapped" premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking. Her most recent project "Bobby Kennedy for President" premiered on Netflix earlier this year.
Resources for Further Exploration - Voting Matters
Books at the SJR State Library
Books may be checked out by community patrons as well as SJR State students faculty and staff. If a title is located at another campus, the book may be sent to another campus upon request.
Give Us the Ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in America by Call Number: All campus libraries - JK1846 .B47 2015ISBN: 9780374158279Publication Date: 2015-08-04On the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, a riveting and alarming account of the continuing battle over Americans' right to vote"-- Provided by publisher.
The Future of the Voting Rights Act by Call Number: Orange Park Circulation -- JK1924 .F88 2006ISBN: 9780871540720Publication Date: 2006-09-21Contents: Political competition and the modern VRA / Richard H. Pildes -- The law of preclearance : enforcing section 5 / Peyton McCrary, Christopher Seaman, Richard Valelly -- Rethinking section 5 / Guy-Uriel E. Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer -- Trends in minority representation, 1974 to 2000 / David L. Epstein and Sharyn O'Halloran -- Congressional power to renew preclearance provisions / Richard L. Hasen -- Does section 5 of the Voting Rights Act still work? / Samuel Issacharoff -- Voting Rights Act enforcement : navigating between high and low expectations / Bruce E. Cain and Karin MacDonald -- Reshaping the tub : the limits of the VRA for Latino electoral politics / Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Louis DeSipio -- Expanding coverage of section five in Indian country / Laughlin McDonald -- Election administration and voting rights / Stephen Ansolabehere -- Options and strategies for renewal of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act / Nathaniel Persily -- The coverage curve : identifying states at the bottom of the class / Spencer Overton -- Who's covered? coverage formula and bailout / Michael P. McDonald -- A third way : section 5 and the opt-in approach / Heather K. Gerken -- Extending section 5 of the Voting Rights Act : the complex interaction between law and politics / Bernard Grofman and Thomas Brunell.
Amendment XV: race and the right to vote by Call Number: Palatka and St. Augustine -- KF4893 .A96 2009ISBN: 0737743271Publication Date: 2009-05-29Contents: Foreword -- Amendment text and explanation -- Introduction -- Chronology -- 1: Historical Background On Fifteenth Amendment -- Fifteenth amendment was part of a "second constitution" for the United States -- Ratification of the fifteenth amendment helped former rebel states rejoin the union / Brooks D Simpson -- Ratification of the fifteenth amendment is simply justice / Benjamin F Whittemore -- Voting rights should be preserved for white men of European background / James R Doolittle -- Fifteenth amendment will help blacks fulfill their potential as Americans / Frederick Douglass -- Federal government must enforce the fifteenth amendment's guarantees / Martin Luther King, Jr -- 2: Challenging And Affirming The Fifteenth Amendment -- Individual states cannot restrict the fifteenth amendment's guarantees / Edward D White -- States may restrict nonwhites from voting in state primaries / Owen Roberts -- States cannot restrict voting in primaries to whites only / Stanley F Reed -- Congress has the right to enforce the fifteenth amendment / Earl Warren -- Parts of the Voting rights act are unconstitutional / Hugo Black -- 3: Ensuring Voting Rights In Contemporary America -- Indiana's voter ID law threatens to disenfranchise some voters / Cynthia Tucker -- Voter ID laws have not been shown to reduce voter turnout / Jeff Milyo -- States continue to find ways to restrict voters / Adam Cohen -- Some authorities still try to stop African Americans from voting / Art Levine -- Federal officials still monitor elections to ensure fair voting procedures / Katherine Sayre -- Appendices -- A: Amendments to the US Constitution -- B: Court cases relevant to the fifteenth amendment -- For further research -- Index.
Voting Rights under Fire: the continuing struggle for people of color by Call Number: Palatka Circulation -- KF4893 .B76 2015ISBN: 9781440832475Publication Date: 2015-05-26"Voting Rights under Fire is a timely addition to Praeger's series, Racism in American Institutions (RAI). With continued debate over existing and proposed voter ID laws and a host of other measures that seem designed to impede the ability of people of color to vote, racism as an institutional factor in American voting and politics is clear. The RAI series examines the ways in which racism has become a part of the fabric of many American institutions. For example, while the United States may have done away with overtly racist policies such as Jim Crow segregation, racism still affects many of America's established institutions from public schools to corporate offices. Similarly, schools may not be legally segregated, and yet many districts are not integrated. Voter ID laws have targeted perceived voter fraud, but there is no real fraud to speak of and hence these anti-voting measures serve to take us back to the period before the advent of the Voting Rights Act when people of color, especially black people, could not vote"-- Provided by publisher.
Right to Vote: the contested history of democracy in the United States by Call Number: St. Augustine Circulation -- JK1846 .K48 2000ISBN: 046502968XPublication Date: 2000-08-22"Alexander Keyssar's account highlights the gap between the hallowed image of the United States as the democratic nation and the reality that it took nearly two centuries for universal suffrage to be achieved. The story that he presents is one of both progress toward democratization and of fierce resistance to any expansion of the franchise. It includes lively accounts of those who "won" the right to vote, including women. African Americans, immigrants and industrial workers, while also describing recurrent - and sometimes successful - efforts to bar millions of individuals from the polls."--BOOK JACKET.
The Rise and Fall of the Voting Rights Act by Call Number: Orange Park Circulation -- KF4891 .B85 2016ISBN: 9780806152004Publication Date: 2016-04-12"In tracing the development of the Voting Rights Act from its inception, Charles S. Bullock III, Ronald Keith Gaddie, and Justin J. Wert begin by exploring the political and legal aspects of the Jim Crow electoral regime. Detailing both the subsequent struggle to enact the law and its impact, they explain why the Voting Rights Act was necessary. The authors draw on court cases and election data to bring their discussion to the present with an examination of the 2006 revision and renewal of the act, and its role in shaping the southern political environment in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, when Barack Obama was chosen. Bullock, Gaddie, and Wert go on to closely evaluate the 2013 Shelby County decision, describing how the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court created an appellate environment that made the act ripe for a challenge." - publisher
eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate due to licensing restrictions.
The Future of the Voting Rights Act by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781610441896Publication Date: 2006-09-21
The Most Fundamental Right: contrasting perspectives on the Voting Rights Act by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780253001924Publication Date: 2012-10-17"Passed in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights movement, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) changed the face of the American electorate, dramatically increasing minority voting, especially in the South. While portions of the Act are permanent, certain provisions were set to expire in 2007. Reauthorization of these provisions passed by a wide margin in the House, and unanimously in the Senate, but the lopsided tally hid a deep and growing conflict. The Most Fundamental Right is an effort to understand the debate over the Act and its role in contemporary American democracy. Is the VRA the cornerstone of civil rights law that prevents unfair voting practices, or is it an anachronism that no longer serves American democracy? Divided into three sections, the book utilizes a point/counterpoint approach. Section 1 explains the legal and political context of the Act, providing important background for what follows; Section 2 pairs three debates concerning specific provisions or applications of the Act; while Section 3 offers commentaries on the previous chapters from attorneys with widely divergent viewpoints." - publisher
When the Letter Betrays the Spirit: voting rights enforcement and African American participation from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780739149140Publication Date: 2011-09-16"When the Letter Betrays the Spirit examines the wide latitude provided to the executive branch and to the Supreme Court by the text of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Drawing from government enforcement data, legislative history, Supreme Court rulings, the 2006 reauthorization debate on the VRA, and from the 2007 scandal involving the firing of U.S. attorneys under the Bush Administration, the book examines when, why, and how executive and judicial discretion facilitates violation of voting rights. Connecting Johnson to Obama, the book outlines why the executive-centered model of voting rights." - publisher
Mistaken Identity: the Supreme Court and the politics of minority representation by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400822775Publication Date: 2002-07-01Contents: Chapter 1 The Voting Rights Act and the Struggle for Meaningful Political Membership 12 -- Chapter 2 The Supreme Court and Representation: Building an Analytical Framework 30 -- Chapter 3 Sound and Fury: Identifying the Role of Political Identity in the Public Debate 51 -- Chapter 4 The Early Cases 70 -- Chapter 5 The Later Cases: The Polarization of Judicial Debate 98 -- Chapter 6 The Possibilities of Legislative Learning 145.
Ballot Blocked: the political erosion of the Voting Rights Act by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780804797597Publication Date: 2017-09-12"Voting rights are a perennial topic in American politics. Recent elections and the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down key enforcement provisions in the Voting Rights Act (VRA), have only placed further emphasis on the debate over voter disenfranchaisement. Over the past five decades, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have consistently voted to expand the protections offered to vulnerable voters by the Voting Rights Act. And yet, the administration of the VRA has become more fragmented and judicial interpretation of its terms has become much less generous. Why have Republicans consistently adopted administrative and judicial decisions that undermine legislation they repeatedly endorse?
Ballot Blocked shows how the divergent trajectories of legislation, administration, and judicial interpretation in voting rights policymaking derive largely from efforts by conservative politicians to narrow the scope of federal enforcement while at the same time preserving their public reputations as supporters of racial equality and minority voting rights. Jesse H. Rhodes argues that conservatives adopt a paradoxical strategy in which they acquiesce to expansive voting rights protections in Congress (where decisions are visible and easily traceable) while simultaneously narrowing the scope of federal enforcement via administrative and judicial maneuvers (which are less visible and harder to trace). Over time, the repeated execution of this strategy has enabled a conservative Supreme Court to exercise preponderant influence over the scope of federal enforcement." - publisher
Celebration • Education • Reflection
H.R.1242/Public Law 115-102, the 400 Years of African American History Commission Act, establishes 2019 as a year of "commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the English colonies, at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619." The commemoration is intended “to recognize and highlight the resilience and contributions of African-Americans since 1619; to acknowledge the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial discrimination had on the United States; and to educate the public about the arrival of Africans in the United States; and the contributions of African-Americans to the United States.” In recognition of this commemoration and with the Act serving as a guide, the SJR State Library has organized a year-long series of events that will provide educational experiences and resources to students and the community that celebrate the history and culture of African Americans.
Site created and maintained by Dr. Christina Will. Pages will be added and maintained throughout 2019.
Maintenance will cease at the end of 2019 but this site will remain accessible.