President Lyndon B. Johnson holds the signed document of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as he chats with Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., in the President’s Room in Washington, Aug. 6, 1965. File
| Photo Credit: AP
President Lyndon B. Johnson knew the legislation he was about to sign was momentous, one that took courage for certain members of Congress to pass since the vote could cost them their seats.
To honour that, he took the unusual step of leaving the Oval Office and going to Capitol Hill for the signing ceremony. It was Aug 6, 1965, five months after the “Bloody Sunday” attack on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, that gave momentum to the Bill that became known as the Voting Rights Act.
Published – April 30, 2026 11:31 pm IST
