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ix Foreword In this book, Bernard LaFayette Jr. has written a powerful history of struggle , commitment, and hope. No one, but no one, who lived through the creation and development of the movement for voting rights in Selma is better prepared to tell this story than Bernard LaFayette himself. He was trained in nonviolence by a master, the Reverend Jim Lawson, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s main organizer in Selma. This book fills in many blanks left by other discussions and research on the struggle for the right to vote in modern American history. Through the lens of his training in the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence and his commitment to social and political change, Bernard LaFayette takes us on a journey through the heart of the Deep South and the Black Belt of Alabama. He makes the story of the struggle real; he makes it come alive. It is fitting that this book will be published as we approach the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery . This work highlights not just why we needed to take action but also why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was long overdue. The marches and protests in Selma were necessary. They disturbed an unjust peace and paved the way for justice. They dramatized the need for a mandate to protect the right to vote of every citizen in Alabama, throughout the South, and throughout America. This book also helps us process the lessons of the recent election of 2012, where voting and voting rights were the center of debate. At the time of this writing, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. As they deliberate, this book will serve as a necessary guide for citizens, students, and scholars. John Robert Lewis United States House of Representatives ...

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