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WRI1301: Women's Suffrage & the Right to Vote: Voting Rights Act of 1965

Figures of Note

  • Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) - Worked to register voters against the obstacles in Florida Law
  • Alice Paul (1885 - 1977) - Main leader in campaigned for 19th Amendment and helped add provisions for women to the 1964 Civil Rights Act
  • Lulu Belle Madison White (1907-1957) - helped with the elimination of the white primaries in 1943; active in NAACP Houston Chapter
  • Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) - led voting drives and founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in opposition to the all-white delegation
  • Rosanell Eaton (1921-2018) - first African American to vote in her county; registered more than 4,000 to vote in NC
  • James Luther Bevel (1936–2008) - organized the Alabama Voting Rights Project along with his wife, Diane Nash, and suggested the march to Selma
  • Jimmie Lee Jackson (1938–1965) - murdered during a peaceful voting rights protest. His death helped inspire the Selma marches
  • Prathia Hall (1940–2002) - canvassed door to door to register voters and taught in freedom schools - educational programs to help potential voters pass registration tests.