7-07-06,9:45am

In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed to protect the basic rights of minorities to vote.

Now, it’s up for renewal in Congress, but two Georgia Republicans—Reps. Lynn Westmoreland and Charles Norwood—are leading a group of Southern Republicans from Georgia, Texas and other states in efforts to hijack the renewal of the Voting Rights Act.

Many members of Congress opposing the bill represent states with some of the most egregious records of discrimination in voting, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), which includes the AFL-CIO and several affiliated unions.

But the attack on voting rights didn’t begin with attempts to block renewal of the Voting Rights Act. A timely new film documentary, “American Blackout,” examines the role of race in the legal decisions that resulted in George W. Bush winning the presidential election and explores how African American voters have been disenfranchised in the nation’s electoral process.

Filmmaker Ian Inaba investigates the 2000 election debacle in Florida and also explores the 2002 election that resulted in defeat for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.). McKinney pushed for an investigation of the firm that created Florida voter lists and incorrectly purged the list of thousands of African Americans from the rolls.

“American Blackout,” which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, won awards at Sundance and at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It will be shown July 8 and July 13 in Atlanta. For more information on screenings, click here.

The film features interviews with: McKinney; Reps John Lewis (D-Ga.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-Ohio); former U.S. Civil Rights Commission member Christopher Edley; BBC journalist Greg Palast; and Van Jones, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, Calif.

Act now: Read a suggested message that you can send to your members of Congress to support the Voting Rights Act.

by James Parks