On Thursday, November 14, MSNBC hosted a Google Plus Hangout On Air with “The Cycle” host Ari Melber and MSNBC.com reporter Zack Roth to discuss the polarizing effects of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act in Beaumont, Texas.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which previously required several states, including Texas, to gain federal approval before making any changes to voting and election laws. In Beaumont, Texas, a war is being waged to oust the black majority of a school board – and because of the Supreme Court ruling, it has become easier than ever to change election laws. Roth recently traveled to Beaumont to report on how the white minority of the town’s majority-black school board is trying to change election laws and take control. Read Zack’s story here.
Ari and Zack were joined by Gwen Ambres, one of the school board members in Beaumont, and Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for voting rights organization MALDEF, for a discussion on the Supreme Court’s decision, the role it has played in the Beaumont school board fight, and the overall effects on minority elected officials and minority voters.
Watch the full discussion, parts one and two, below.
Nisha Chittal