Adding Black Majority News Today

When Press Robinson registered to vote in South Carolina in 1963, he was handed a copy of the U.S. Constitution and told to read it aloud and interpret it. Robinson, then a college sophomore, wasn’t surprised. He heard stories from others in the South’s Black community who faced Jim Crow-era methods to suppress Black votes – from literacy tests to poll taxes to the infamous “jellybean test" that required prospective voters to guess how many of the small candies were in a jar.

Civil rights activists and some lawmakers are concerned that new redistricting maps in three Southern states will dilute the voices of Black people

In Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, new congressional maps that some judges have ruled dilute the power of Black voters are being used in upcoming elections.

Civil rights activists and some lawmakers are concerned that new redistricting maps in three Southern states will dilute the voices of Black people.

When Press Robinson registered to vote in South Carolina in 1963, he was handed a copy of the U.S. Constitution and told to read it aloud and interpret it. Robinson, then a college sophomore, wasn’t surprised. He heard stories from others in the South’s Black community who faced Jim Crow-era methods to suppress Black votes – from literacy tests to poll taxes to the infamous “jellybean test" that required prospective voters to guess how many of the small candies were in a jar.