"Their cause must be our cause too. Because it's not just Negroes, but really it's all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome."

Intimidation and discriminatory tactics at the ballot box resulted in only 20 percent of African Americans exercising their right to vote by the late 1950s. President Lyndon Johnson pushed Congress to embolden voting rights by passing a bill that would help "eliminate from this nation every trace of discrimination and oppression that is based upon race or color." Using the Civil Rights slogan, "We Shall Overcome," Johnson's speech helped pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

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