This is an account of the struggle for equal voting rights in Georgia, from the aboliton of slavery to the present day. The book explores the myths of the Reconstruction era about white supremacy and catalogues attempts to maintain white dominance in the Georgia electoral system.A Voting Rights Odyssey is the story of the efforts of the white leadership in Georgia to maintain white supremacy by denying blacks the right to vote and hold elected office. Written by a veteran civil rights lawyer it draws upon expert reports and court records, trial testimony and interviews.A Voting Rights Odyssey is the story of the efforts of the white leadership in Georgia to maintain white supremacy by denying blacks the right to vote and hold elected office. The events are set out chronologically. The prose is clear and direct, and avoids the 'legalese' that infects much legal writing. The story is told in large part by the participants themselves, from Alexander H. Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, to Carl Sanders, governor of Georgia, to Emma Gresham, mayor of Keysville in rural Burke County.A Voting Rights Odyssey is the story of the efforts of the white leadership in Georgia to maintain white supremacy by denying blacks the right to vote and hold elected office. Narrated chronologically, most of the story is told by those who participated; from Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy, to Carl Sanders, Governor of Georgia, to Emma Gresham, Mayor of Keysville in rural Burke County.From slavery to the white backlash of the 1990s, A Voting Rights Odyssey is a riveting account of the crusade for equal voting rights in Georgia. Written by a veteran civil rights lawyer the book draws upon expert reports and other court records, as well as trial testimony and interviews with the men and women who served as plaintiffs and witnesses in litigation that helped forge a revolution in voting rights. The book explores, and repudiates, the myths of the Reconstruction era that blacks were incapable of voting and holding office. It also catalogues the attempts of the state leadership to maintain white supremacy after the abolition of the white primary, the demands of the Civil Rights Movement, and passage of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. A must read for anyone interested in the way in which race has driven and distorted the political process in the South."...accessible and engaging to all readers...This third person history reflects the choice of an unassuming, thoughtful lawyer who possesses a courtly deference to others as the real heroes of good deeds." Southern Changes"...helps explain why Georgia's redistributing battles have become so befuddling." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"Laughlin writes with a historians breadth of knowledge and mastery of research, an advocate's passion and the acute perceptions of a veteran participant in civil rights litigation." Columbia College Today..."McDonald's stories evoke drama, as when he relates how Georgia's white supremacist legislature expelled Julian Bond, a black, from the Statehouse in 1965 after Bond was elected to the House. McDonald's expertise as a lawyer is evident throughout the book. His story's larger point is that legislatures can't always be counted on to do the right thing. Blacks won freedom, for the most part, in the courts. In telling his adopted state's story, McDonald finds hope."...Is Knight-Ridder Newspapers, 11/23/2003"Pulls no punches. . . A valuable addition to civil rights history." The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionDetails the efforts of the white leadership in Georgia to deny blacks their voting rights."From slavery to the white backlash of the 1990s, A Voting Rights Odyssey is an account of the crusade for equal voting rights in Georgia. Written by a veteran civil rights lawyer who has tried innumberable voting cases, the book draws upon expert reports and other court records, as well as trial testimony and interviews with the men and women who served as plaintiffs and witnesses in litigation that helped to forge a revolution in voting rights. The book explores, and repudiates, the myths of the Reconstruction era that blacks were incapable of voting and holding office. It also catalogues the extraordinary, and ultimately failed, attempts of the state leadership to maintain white supremacy after the abolition of the white primary, the demands of the civil rights movement, and passage of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. A Voting Rights Odyssey is essential reading for anyone interested in the way in which race has driven and distorted the political process in the South."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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