This week’s graphic, which coincides with a day of arguments before the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of a crucial section of the Voting Rights Act, examines Americans’ perspectives on discrimination and government action. As the graphic shows, white Americans who live in the South are more likely than those from other regions to believe that the government has paid too much attention to the problems of blacks and other minorities, and that today, discrimination against whites is as big a problem as discrimination against blacks.
The debated section of the Voting Rights Act requires nine states, mostly in the South, to gain permission from the federal government before changing voting procedure. At the time of the law’s passage, this was intended to prevent states with a history of racial discrimination from enacting voting laws that kept black citizens from the polls. Now, a county in Alabama is arguing that this provision is outdated.
