The Struggle for Our Right to Vote

For over 150 years, People of Color in America have led a continuous struggle for the right to vote, transitioning from the total denial of citizenship to fighting modern-day voter suppression.

Chronology of the Struggle

• Post - Civil War & Reconstruction (1865-1877): Following the end of slavery, the 15th Amendment (1870) was ratified, prohibiting the denial of voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". During the brief window of (Reconstruction Era) (1865-1877) nearly 1,500 Black

  men entered Political office in Arkansas and around the Country

• The Jim Crow Era (Late 1800s-1960s): Southern states dismantled Black political power through Jim Crow Laws, using "legal hurdles like literacy test, poll taxes and grandfather clauses, Yes We event had to guest how many beans were in the Jar. alongside violent and intimidation.

• Women's Suffrage (Early 1900s): Black women like Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell fought for the19th Amendment (1920s) while simultaneously battling racism within the white-led suffrage movement. Even through they didn't receive the right to vote, they help millions of white women grain the right to vote.

• The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s): Large-scale campaigns such as Freedom Summer (1964) and the Selma to Montgomery marches (1965)-often called 'Bloody Sunday" - drew national attention to the brutal violence used to stop Black registration and Our Right to Vote.

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Key Legislative Milestones

• Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA): Often considered the most effective piece of civil rights legislation, it outlawed literacy test and authorized federal oversight of registration in discriminatory regions

• 24th Amendment (1964): Abolished the use of poll taxes in federal elections.

Modern Challenges (Context) In the 1990 a few brave men and woman from Mississippi County, Arkansas fight to the highest Court in our district. To have new lines draw allowing Mississippi County, Arkansas residence to elect a State Representative of there choice that would understand there needs and better reflect the demographic of the resident.

A group of brave heroes and she-roes stepped forward to demand change. Lonnie Middlebrook Jr., Hattie Middlebrook, Reginald Robinson, Vicky Robinson, Albert Veasley, and Ollie Neal led the charge. They understood that without fair districts, the community would remain powerless in shaping policies that affected their daily lives.

I'm proud to say; my parents were part of that fight to create the district that is now named; (District 34) Mississippi County Arkansas. I "Mike Middlebrook" am honored to be running to become your Next State Representative of District 34 in the November 3, 2026 election as a proud democratic

Challenges in (2026) The fight for voting rights remains active in 2026 due to legal rollbacks and new barriers

• Shelby County v. Holder (2013): The Supreme Court struck down a key part of the VRA that required states with histories of discrimination to get federal approval ("preclearance") before changing voting laws.

• Current Suppression Tactics: Modern struggles focus on strict voter ID laws, gerrymandering (redrawing maps to dilute Black voting power). which happen again in district 34 just a few years ago. Voter roll purges, and the closure of polling places in Black communities.

• Advocacy Organizations: Like the NAACP, ACLU, and Black Voters Matter continue to file lawsuits and lead registration drives to combat these issues.

Team Middlebrook 2026 for Mike Middlebrook to become your Next State Representative - District 34, Mississippi County, Arkansas

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