URBAN LEGENDS: “…Your side, His side & The Truth”

"…I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of Democracy."
(Watch Johnsons' Speech on YouTube)

-President Lyndon B. Johnson-Speech before Congress on Voting Rights Act of 1965

Truth discrepancies on the web seem to provide a rallying call for sensitive topics. My grandfather used to say when he was refereeing an argument between the grandchildren, "There's your side, his side and the truth." Currently many "urban myths" appear to have some elements of the truth; however the evidentiary data seems to cause the real problem.

Snopes.com listed the facts about the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the black community the myth was spread that in 2007 President George W. Bush and the Congress had the right to repeal the 1965 Voting Rights Act, thus denying, specifically, African-Americans the right to vote. Many black people believed the myth.

The truth is in 1870 the 15^th amendment to the Constitution states:

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

President Lyndon Johnson and the United States Congress, in an effort to collapse Jim Crow discrimination, enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to enforce the rights granted to African Americans and all people of color in the 15^th Amendment. Yet when the legend was retold, it never included revocation of this right from Hispanics, Asians, Africans or any members of those Diasporas. One side of the story: The Voting Rights Act enforced a Constitutional Right. The other side of the story: the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended in 1970 it was continually extended to enforce and protect voters' rights. The truth: The 15^th Amendment to the Constitution does not expire. The right to vote as a legal registered resident of the United States is in perpetuity.

http://web.archive.org/web/20060806011153/http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/clarify3.htm