Survivors of civil rights activists who died in the struggle for voting rights are speaking out against the recent Supreme Court decision that effectively dismantled the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The decision has sparked outrage and sadness among those who lost loved ones in the fight for equality.

A Personal Connection to the Struggle

Anthony Liuzzo, whose mother Viola Liuzzo was killed in 1965 while driving civil rights protesters in Alabama, expressed his anger and disappointment at the decision. "My mother’s blood is on that bill. We were always proud of that, and now it’s gone," he said.

Lisa McNair, whose sister Denise was killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, also spoke out against the decision. "I am constantly working to pray my way through it, so I can get up and go to work in the morning and do what I need to do. But I just want to ask every person I see, What more do you want?" she said.

A Long and Difficult Path

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a major milestone in the civil rights movement, but its passage came at a great cost. Many activists lost their lives in the struggle for equality, including James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who were killed in Mississippi in 1964 while investigating a bombing at a Black church.

Tamara Orange, whose father James Orange was a civil rights activist, expressed her relief that her father is not alive to see the decision. "I’m relieved for them because to me, it’s as though the sacrifices that were made were done in vain," she said.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.