Major Mike | Today in History 08/06 (Voting Rights Act)

President Lyndon B. Johnson moves to shake hands with Dr. Martin Luther King while others look on after the signing of the Voting Rights Act on Aug 6, 1965 (© LBJ Library/Yoichi Okamoto)

(1965) Protections for minority voting rights signed into US law

President Lyndon Johnson signs the US Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it illegal to bar African Americans and other minorities from voting. Part of a sweep of civil rights legislation, the law is needed to enforce what had already been ratified in 1868 as the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the Civil Rights Movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act secured the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Act is considered to be the most effective piece of federal civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks at the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965
wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965

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(1965) Protections for minority voting rights signed into US law.
Also on this day,

1945 | Hiroshima destroyed by American atomic bomb

At 8:15 AM, a US B-29 drops a single bomb over Hiroshima, and the first atomic weapon used in warfare detonates with a 13-kiloton blast, destroying nearly 5 square miles of the Japanese city. Upwards of 70,000 die instantly, and tens of thousands will later perish from injury and sickness.

1962 | Jamaica becomes independent from the UK

British flags are replaced with the new Jamaican flag, the first Jamaica Independence Festival is held, and Alexander Bustamante becomes the country’s first prime minister. After decades of protest and debate, British Parliament passed the Jamaican Independence Act on July 19, 1962, setting August 6 as the date of freedom.

2012 | Curiosity rover lands on Mars

NASA lands the robotic rover on the Red Planet to examine the climate and conditions, and determine if Mars had ever been able to support microbial life. It will quickly find hints of an ancient streambed and evidence that the area called Yellowknife Bay may have been habitable in the past.

Today in History ^08/06/17

Aerial photograph of Hiroshima, Japan, shortly after the 'Little Boy' atomic bomb was dropped on Aug 8, 1945 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)

(1945) Hiroshima destroyed by American atomic bomb

At 8:15 AM, a US B-29 drops a single bomb over Hiroshima, and the first atomic weapon used in warfare detonates with a 13-kiloton blast, destroying nearly 5 square miles of the Japanese city. Upwards of 70,000 die instantly, and tens of thousands will later perish from injury and sickness.

During the final stage of World War II, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. The United States had dropped the bombs with the consent of the United Kingdom as outlined in the Quebec Agreement. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history.

Start date: Aug 06, 1945
End date: Aug 09, 1945

Left picture : At the time this photo was made, smoke billowed 20,000 feet above Hiroshima while smoke from the burst of the first atomic bomb had spread over 10,000 feet on the target at the base of the rising column. Six planes of the 509th Composite Group participated in this mission: one to carry the bomb (Enola Gay), one to take scientific measurements of the blast (The Great Artiste), the third to take photographs (Necessary Evil), while the others flew approximately an hour ahead to act as weather scouts (08/06/1945). Bad weather would disqualify a target as the scientists insisted on a visual delivery. The primary target was Hiroshima, the secondary was Kokura, and the tertiary was Nagasaki. Right picture : Atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, taken by Charles Levy.