Supreme Court ruling ushers in a new era of gerrymandering

Nearly 61 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, a defining moment for the civil rights movement – and a turning point for the nation. "Every family across this great, entire, searching land will live stronger in liberty, will live more splendid in expectation, and will be prouder to be American because of the act that you have passed, that I will sign today," Johnson said. The law sought to end obstacles to Black voters casting their ballots, said Martha Jones, a history professor at Johns Hopkins University. "Slavery is abolished in 1865; in 1870, the 15th Amendment is passed, intending to guarantee to Black men the right to vote; 1920, the 19th Amendment is intended to guarantee all women the right to vote. And still, Black Americans are kept from the polls in too many places – by law, by intimidation, by violence," said Jones. "So, one thing we can say about 1965 is that people have been waiting a very long time." Waiting, and struggling, to end racial discrimination in voting. "Lives were lost, lives were threatened, communities were under siege," said Jones. "And Americans – Black and White – put themselves in harm's way in order to finally set fire to the feet of Lyndon Johnson, set fire to feet of Congress. And finally, the result is a Voting Rights Act. "But to think of the Voting Rights Act as an act of Congress – or an act of Johnson's pen – is to in essence erase the blood from the page," she said. …