Commission on Civil Rights.īut Northern efforts to protect the rights of Black Southerners waned.

By the early 1870s, Black residents accounted for nearly 40% of registered voters in Georgia, according to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed citizens the right to vote, regardless of “race, color or previous condition of servitude.”įor a brief period, substantial numbers of Black Southerners registered, voted and won political office. That ban continued until after the Civil War, when federal troops in the South enforced the new 15th Amendment to the U.S. The state’s first constitution in 1777 prohibited Black people from voting. Georgia has a long history of disenfranchising Black residents. 15 headlines that explain the debate Jim Crow in Georgia.Our journalists work hard to be fair and will follow this complex story as it continues to develop.įor a better understanding of the issues that drove Legislative action and reaction that followed, click on these links. Providing the facts and context that help readers understand the current debate over voting laws is a priority for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. With prominent Republicans continuing to claim the November presidential election was stolen, one expert says the debate about elections in Georgia will continue to feature hyperbole and false statements. Raphael Warnock took up the cry of “Jim Crow” in March, and it continues to echo as other states adopt stricter voter rules. Some election experts say the new law could even backfire on Republicans, inspiring greater minority turnout.ĭemocrats including Biden and U.S.

And the law’s impact won’t be nearly as dramatic as Jim Crow, which prevented nearly all Black Southerners from voting.

The Jim Crow era was marked by lynchings and other racial violence missing from the debate over SB 202. They also see provisions of both that - while race-neutral on their face - seem designed to target people of color.īut there are also clear differences. Brian Kemp signs into law Senate Bill 202, Georgia's new election statute, during a ceremony behind closed doors at the state Capitol.Ī look at the history of Jim Crow in Georgia and across the South shows there’s evidence for both views on SB 202.Ĭivil rights and election experts see clear parallels in false cries of “voter fraud” used as a rationale for both Jim Crow and SB 202.

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