Disenfranchisement-like discrimination-is a pernicious evil which continues to linger among us like an albatross and surface its ugly head when people, afraid of change and fearful of the unknown, are wont to cling to past traditions.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, may I say that from 1965 to 1970, I served as the director of the voter education project of the Southern Regional Council which was a research project seeking to ameliorate the causes of low registration among blacks in the South.

During that 5-year period of stewardship, I had the privilege of directing an organization that, in fact, made grants to the 5 major civil rights organizations and local community groups that included voter registration of more than 1,500,000 persons in the 11 States of the old Confederacy.

When I think about that experience and about what we went through to get the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed, and when I think about what we endured trying to make real and alive the rights of those disenfranchised black citizens, it is very clear to me that this Congress and this Nation have a continuing responsibility for those black citizens.

We are really very new in the political process. In 1944, when the case of Smith v. Allwright was handed down, in the 11 States of the old Confederacy there were only 250,000 black people registered to vote. More than that now are registered to vote in the State of Mississippi alone.

It seems to me that we have a continuing need to deal with a people who for all intents and purposes are still novices in the political process, despite the fact that we were here before the Pilgrims landed.

That process, that obligation, is continuing and it seems to me that it should be at the root of your consideration of extending and expanding this legislation. I am reminded of the voter registration drive in 1966 in Jefferson County, Ala.-Birmingham-that was being conducted by Rev. Jose Williams who was a field director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with a grant from the voter education project to the Southern Regional Council.

The registration was taking place in the post office there, pursuant to the act, where Federal registrars, both black and white were present. SCLC had mobilized thousands of people that day to go to the post office.

I went pursuant to my responsibility as a grantor organization. I looked at the process. I talked to some of the people. I shall never forget coming out of that Federal building and spotting in line an elderly black gentleman on a crutch. I stopped and I identified myself as the director of the voter education project, and I said, sir, I would like to be presumptuous enough to ask you a question.

And my question to him was, I said, Mister, you must be well up into your 70's. He said, I am 82 year old. I said, why is it that you have waited until you were 82 years old to come downtown in Jefferson County to register and vote?

The old man looked up at me and said, son, all my life my philosophy has been to never get in the way of trouble a comin'. And I said to him, if that has been your philosophy, why are you here today?

The old man looked me straight in the face and said, son, I am here today because trouble ain't a comin' like it used to. What he meant,

by never getting in the way of trouble a comin', is that prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 "trouble a comin'" to him was the fear, the intimidation, the possibility of economics reprisal, the segregated polling places, the hostility of the registrars, and his poor educational background due to separate but unequal facilities. But what he meant by "trouble not a comin' like it used to" was that some black people and some white people marched from Selma to Montgomery and the President from Texas signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which provided the old man and many others a Federal place and Federal registrars, black and white, to register him and to protect his right to vote as a citizen of the State of Alabama. I think that this Congress has an obligation not only to that old man who has probably gone on, but to his children and to his children's children, and his children's children's grandchildren, and not only to protect that right, but to extend it.

I also think that this Congress has the responsibility to make this same right possible for Americans of Hispanic descent who now say, as the old man said, that we never get in the way of trouble a comin'. But, if this Congress acts responsibly and consistent with fairness and justice and equity, then those Americans of Hispanic descent can join in with the old man in Jefferson County and say. I am at the Federal polling place because trouble ain't a comin' like it used to. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator TUNNEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Jordan.

Let me ask you this. If we should agree in the Congress to strike out sections 4 and 5, such as some of our colleagues would have us do, do you feel that trouble would be a comin' again?

Mr. JORDAN. There is no question about that-unequivocably, indubitably, yes. It is clear to me that we have to have this act extended in its present form, and expanded to include those persons who are presently out of reach of our political process.

Senator TUNNEY. I agree with you 100 percent, everything that you have said. I feel that the 10-year extension is needed. I think that it is going to take many years to root out the vestiges of a system of discrimination which has been so hostile to the sensibilities of a very substantial segment of the southern population-namely, the blacks. It is almost inevitable that if we would not extend this act we would find a retrogression. It would not be because of individual malevolence, necessarily, but because of the majority peer pressure that would cause that retrogression.

I feel that we ought to try to expand the coverage not only to include Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans or other people of Spanish descent, but any minority language group such as the American Indians, as another example, because the right to vote is so basic to our system of democracy.

I think that in the future we are going to see substantial new threats to our democratic freedom in this country. As we approach the end of this century and as we get to a point where there are shortages of resources, the world population continues to grow, and food resources are inadequate to feed people, it seems to me that there is going to be an institutional process which could well result in the loss of individual freedom in this country.

So I think that we must do everything that we can to assure ourselves that the participation of the individual in the democratic process will continue.

Thank you very much for your testimony. It was very eloquent and I know that others on the subcommittee, when they read your statement, will feel as I do. Thank you very much.

Mr. JORDAN. Thank you, Senator.

Senator TUNNEY. This concludes our hearings on the Voting Rights Act and the subcommittee will now, over the next few weeks, be studying the various alternatives. We anticipate that we will start our markup in the first week of June.

The hearing is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 11:55 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned, subject to the call of the Chair.]

APPENDIX

Bills and Amendments in relation to the Voting Rights Act

94TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION

S. 1279

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 21 (legislative day, MARCH 12), 1975

Mr. PHILIP A. HART (for himself and Mr. HUGH SCOTT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to extend certain provisions for an additional ten years and to make permanent the ban against certain prerequisites to voting.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That section 4 (a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is 4 amended by striking out "ten" each time it appears and in5 serting in lieu thereof "twenty".

6 SEC. 2. Section 201 (a) of the Voting Rights Act of 7 1965 is amended by

8

9

10

II

(1) striking out "Prior to August 6, 1975, no" and inserting "No" in lieu thereof; and

(2) striking out "as to which the provisions of