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The Journey to Democracy: Celebrating the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial was a highlight of the March on Washington. The speech is also recognized as an iconic moment in American history. Dr. King touched on voting rights when he shared his vision of an America free of racial and economic discrimination: “there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights…there are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied…we cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote."