The 15th Amendment

• The U.S. congress ratified the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in 1870, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. This amendment states that 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."
  
  

Jim Crow Laws

• Beginning in the late 1890s and lasting for about 60 years, Jim Crow laws -- such as the creation of poll taxes -- limited the rights of African Americans to vote. Intimidation and violence also deterred African Americans from voting.
  
  

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

• On March 17, 1965, more than 600 African American activists set out on a 54-mile march in Alabama to demand voting and other civil rights. This demonstration led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which guaranteed all citizens 21 years of age and older the right to vote.
  
  

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993

• The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 made voter registration easier for all Americans, including African Americans. This legislation allows for registration when getting a drivers license, at public assistance offices and via mail-in forms.