60 Years After the Voting Rights Act, This 88-Year-Old Black Man Sees History Repeating Itself

Press Robinson was part of a proud generation of young Black Americans who witnessed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) being signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. After only 60 years since the historic legislation outlawed racial discrimination in voting, Robinson might be part of a generation that sees it crumble.

We’ve been keeping up with the ongoing fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to weaken Section 2 of the VRA last month. While the Louisiana v. Callais case centered on two majority-Black districts in the state, Robinson told The Washington Post that he’s concerned about potential impacts across the nation.

“That law passed in 1965 was the bedrock of improvement of life in America for people of color,” Robinson said. “This is a Louisiana case, but the result is not going to be limited to Louisiana. It’s going to set the stage for redistricting in the entire country.”

Gerrymandering efforts by Republicans and Democrats have notably impacted Black voting zones, which were protected under Section 2. The court’s ruling effectively gives the green light for lawmakers to redraw their district maps to dilute and ultimately disenfranchise Black voters.

Now 88 years old, Robinson grew up in the Jim Crow South, where Black folks had to overcome discriminatory barriers to register to vote. He remembers having to prove that he could read before being allowed to vote in the 1950s. By the 1970s, Robinson decided he had to do better for his people.

He helped lead a lawsuit challenging discriminatory election systems in Louisiana, ultimately paving the way for him to become the first Black member of his local school board.

It’s a victory that was made possible, Robinson emphasized, by the Voting Rights Act. According to The Washington Post, he called the act “the bedrock of improvement of life in America for people of color.” The legislation made literacy tests illegal while also allowing Black voters to challenge any racial gerrymandering, leading to increased representation across the South.

In 1980, he was elected to the school board, where he served for eight terms. Decades later, Robinson found himself once again at the center of a legal battle–this time as a plaintiff in a case tied to Louisiana’s congressional maps. The case became part of a broader Supreme Court ruling that weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

Despite his long history of victories, Robinson was on the losing side of this latest fight. He told The Washington Post that the consequences for Black voters would extend far beyond his state, saying, “History is now repeating itself.”