Whereas, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), which passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed by President Lyndon Johnson, prohibited racial discrimination in voting;

Whereas, in 1966, 4 years after integration, the first African-American student at Ole Miss planned a 220-mile march from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi (referred to in this preamble as the “Meredith March Against Fear”) –

(1)   to challenge the fear that dominated the day-to-day lives of African-Americans in the Southern United States, specifically in the State of Mississippi; and

(2)   to encourage the 450,000 unregistered African-Americans in the State of Mississippi to register to vote and to go to the polls;

Whereas, on June 5, 1966, the historic Meredith March Against Fear began at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis, Tennessee;

– See more at: http://www.wtva.com/news/local/Senators_Honor_50th_Anniversary_of_James_Merediths_Historic_March_Against_Fear.html#sthash.wVmENK7Q.dpuf