Meacham recognizes the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as one of the civil rights movement’s crowning achievements. In 2013, in the case Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down part of that law—a part some called the heart of it. What was the decision, and how did it affect the law’s implementation? Do you think the ruling was correct? Why or why not?

In discussing the strategy of peaceful resistance, the book mentions the inspiration that James Lawson and Martin Luther King drew from Mahatma Gandhi. Who was Gandhi, and what struggle was he engaged in? How does it compare to the struggle of African Americans in this country (i.e., what are the similarities and differences)?

The 1963 March on Washington to dramatize the struggle for African American rights was not a new idea. It was first proposed by A. Philip Randolph in 1941 but did not take place. Who was Randolph, and what circumstances led him to call for the 1941 march? Why was it called off? What role did Randolph play in the 1963 march?