SENATE RESOLUTION

8677

BySenator Wilson, C.

WHEREAS, This month marks the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, The 15th Amendment granted Black men the right to vote by decreeing that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."; and

WHEREAS, Even though additional laws and enforcement were needed over the next century to more effectively implement and enforce the 15th Amendment, this fundamental principle set the stage for all voting rights that followed; and

WHEREAS, The 15th Amendment's landmark language introduced the absolute and unwavering principle that voting is an inalienable right of citizenship and not a benefit limited to the privileged; and

WHEREAS, This bedrock document not only addressed the existential injustice of the day but laid the foundation for our understanding and expansion of voting rights from that day forward; and

WHEREAS, The 15th Amendment's core concept paved the way for the 19th Amendment, establishing the rights of women to vote, and the Snyder Act, establishing the rights of all Native Americans to vote, and continues to influence and inform our expansion of voting rights; and

WHEREAS, The 15th Amendment has transformed and enriched countless lives and generations, and its foundational principle continues to empower and assert the rights of new generations today and into the future; and

WHEREAS, We benefit today and tomorrow by making sure to remember and honor the historic accomplishments of our predecessors;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate acknowledge and reaffirm its respect and support for the 15th Amendment and the precious rights it established, for now and forever.