What strategies did civil rights leaders use to challenge voting restrictions?

Civil rights leaders used strategies such as nonviolent protests, legal challenges, and voter education campaigns to challenge voting restrictions.

Nonviolent protests were a key strategy used by civil rights leaders to challenge voting restrictions. This approach was largely influenced by the philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., who believed in the power of peaceful resistance to effect social change. The Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, for instance, were a series of nonviolent protests against racial discrimination in voting. These marches, which were met with violent opposition, drew national attention to the struggle for voting rights and ultimately led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Legal challenges were another important strategy used by civil rights leaders. Organisations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) played a crucial role in challenging discriminatory voting laws in court. The NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund, for example, was instrumental in the landmark Supreme Court case of Smith v. Allwright in 1944, which outlawed the white primary, a practice that had effectively disenfranchised black voters in the South.

Voter education campaigns were also used to challenge voting restrictions. Civil rights organisations worked to educate African Americans about their voting rights and how to exercise them. They held workshops and training sessions to teach people how to register to vote, how to pass literacy tests that were often used to disenfranchise black voters, and how to resist intimidation at the polls. These campaigns were often carried out in conjunction with grassroots organising efforts to mobilise black voters.

In addition to these strategies, civil rights leaders also lobbied for legislative changes to remove voting restrictions. They worked tirelessly to persuade lawmakers to pass legislation that would protect the voting rights of African Americans. Their efforts culminated in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices and provided federal oversight of voter registration in areas with a history of voting discrimination.