Andrew Young says the Supreme Court will ‘go to hell’ for weakening the Voting Rights Act | CNN

In the office of civil rights icon Andrew Young there is a striking photo that took on new meaning this week. It shows the man Young called his best friend — the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — watching television as President Lyndon Johnson delivers a speech urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation. It was March 15, 1965, a week after demonstrators marching for equal access to the ballot were beaten and tear-gassed by state troopers in Selma, Alabama. Millions of Americans watched Johnson end his speech with an allusion to the civil rights movement’s anthem, declaring, “And we shall overcome.” Young was in the room with King that day. After Johnson’s speech ended, he glanced over at his friend and saw something he’d never seen before: King shedding tears of joy. Six months later, the Voting Rights Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support from lawmakers and the American public. The law would protect the rights of minority voters, as well as the elderly and poor, and became known as the “crown jewel” of the civil rights movement. Many believe the US did not become a true democracy until it was passed. But that photo of King may now represent something

Apr 30, 2026 → May 1, 2026