Civil Rights No. 1: The Right to Vote Summary and Analysis

Few Americans realize the burden placed upon the Negro citizen in his inability to vote. Only a very small percentile of Negro citizens were allowed to register and vote. This became a crisis in the South and in the North, for Negroes moved north, swelling the ghettos. Ghettos resulted from the indifference of the southern racists and continued exploitation of segregation. Negroes migrated north in an effort to lead a decent life, finding only slums, rats, filth, unemployment and more segregation. Disenfranchisement extended in other ways. The right to vote was feared by racist Southern leaders, as a powerful tool for change.

Four main barriers existed to deny the Negro vote. First, brutality reinforced feelings of inferiority when attempting to register or vote. Secondly, abuse of laws intimidated and...