President Obama Sends NYT Mag a Letter to the Editor

The marking last week of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act took on a dirge-like tone at times. The New York Times Magazine's cover story on the Act, for one, tellingly entitled A Dream Undone, looked at the history of efforts to tear it down. In response to the story, President Obama sent a letter to the editor, posted today, praising the story and calling on Congress to restore the VRA. Throughout his letter, the president holds up the example of 94-year-old Rosanell Eaton, who was featured in the article and is a plaintiff in a case to repeal a restrictive North Carolina voting bill. Invoking the Preamble to the Constitution, Obama writes, "It’s a cruel irony that the words that set our democracy in motion were used as part of the so-called literacy test designed to deny Rosanell and so many other African-Americans the right to vote." The president also referenced the recent Supreme Court ruling in Shelby v. Holder, which struck down a section of the VRA under the claim that progress rendered it unnecessary. The 2013 ruling opened the way for states to make progress...in restricting voting rights. "[Jim Rutenberg's] article puts the recent push to restrict Americans’ voting rights in its proper context," writes Obama. "These efforts are not a sign that we have moved past the shameful history that led to the Voting Rights Act. Too often, they are rooted in that history. They remind us that progress does not come easy, but that it must be vigorously defended and built upon for ourselves and future generations." The White House's celebration of the VRA last week included a takeover of the White House Instagram account by Rep. John Lewis. Lewis, a hero of the civil rights era, posted a series of black and white photos from the movement to pass the VRA, ending with a photo of President Lyndon Johnson handing Lewis one of the pens used to sign the Voting Rights Act into law. It was a reminder of what we as a country are capable of achieving, rather than the achievements we are also capable of negating. "What makes our country great is not that we are perfect," wrote Obama in a part of the letter containing his signature hopeful look to the future, "but that with time, courage and effort, we can become more perfect. What makes America special is our capacity to change."

Fishbowl

President Obama Sends NYT Mag a Letter to the Editor

The president calls for a restoration of voting rights.

Corinne Grinapol

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Corinne Grinapol