The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any other State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude."
Here are 3 more things to know about 03.30.1870.
1) At the time of ratification, African-Americans were considered U.S. citizens, thanks to the 14th Amendment, however, the 15th Amendment only granted black men the right to vote. Black women didn't obtain the right to vote until the 19th Amendment granted all American women the right to vote in 1920.
2) Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, NJ became the first black person to vote in the U.S. on March 31, 1870.
3) Poll taxes, literacy test, intimidation and violence was used for decades to discourage and prevent black people from voting. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 eventually made it illegal to apply racially discriminatory voting practices.
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