Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Congress Must Restore Preclearance Provision to the Voting Rights Act
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
28 Jun 2024
🖨️ Print Article

Black Agenda Radio · Congress Must Restore Preclearance to Provision to the Voting Rights Act

June 25 marked the 11th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which stripped the Voting Rights Act of a key protection and unleashed a decade of racially discriminatory voting policies and gerrymandering. Before 2013, places with a history of racially discriminatory voting practices were required to obtain approval from the federal government for any changes to voting laws and policies, a process called preclearance. Between 2012 and 2022, white voters continuously cast ballots at significantly higher rates than voters of color across the country. This difference, known as the racial turnout gap, grew almost twice as fast in the places that, before Shelby County, were covered by the Voting Rights Act’s preclearance protections. Kareem Crayton is the Brennan Center for Justice Senior Director for Voting Rights and Representation. He joins us from Washington DC to discuss the legacy of Shelby County v. Holder and why congressional legislation is needed to restore voting rights act protections.

voting rights
Voting Rights Act
gerrymander

Related Podcasts

Black voters matter
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Voting Rights Threatened by SAVE Act and Federal Election Takeover Plot
27 February 2026
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act was passed in the House of Representatives and would disenfranchise millions of people, as woul
Black Agenda Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio June 28, 2024
28 June 2024
In this week’s segment, we discuss the Shelby County v.
Brennan Center
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Non-Citizen Voting: A Non-Existent Problem
19 April 2024
At a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago, former President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson made a false claim that non-citizen voting is a p

More Stories


  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    A People(s)-Centered Human Rights Critique of “An Open Letter to Iran’s Political Prisoners”
    26 Aug 2026
    A People(s)-Centered Human Rights framework rejects the liberal abstraction that makes a false symmetry between Iranian authoritarianism and U.S. imperialism, which obscures the fact that one is a…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: The CIA and Studies on Guerrilla Warfare, Robert Molteno, 1979
    26 Aug 2026
    “In the period since 1969, one can detect the same old close ties between right-wing U.S. academics, think tanks, foundations, and the U.S. Government…”
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The Manifestation of Surplus Populations: How Gary, Indiana is the Latest Exemplar of the Wrong Complexion for Protection
    26 Aug 2026
    White supremacy works through institutions, and FEMA's formula for allocating disaster relief shows us how the state decides which neighborhoods are prioritized and which are left to suffer. Those in…
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    U.S. Liberal Media Literacy Guide: The World Bank and the IMF
    26 Aug 2026
    The IMF and World Bank are not subjects the corporate media cover in any real sense. Instead, their role is treated as unquestionably immutable and beneficial.
  • Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective
    The Guardian Letter: The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective Responds
    26 Aug 2026
    The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective (AISC) wrote this response to the open letter To Iran's political prisoners, 'trapped between two blades of a scissors' which appeared in The…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us