Abstract:

This article examines a voting rights campaign known as "Blocks for Freedom" that was launched in 1966 to help a group of rural African American women in Clay County, Mississippi, protect their right to vote. These Black women faced significant obstacles to vote even after the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Local white vigilantes and county administrators used violence and the threat of informal economic sanctions to punish Black citizens who registered to vote. "Blocks for Freedom" sought to circumvent these limitations by creating jobs for Black women that would offer a living wage and protect their ability to cast ballots. Led by poor women in Mississippi and civil rights advocates in New York City, this innovative campaign shows how grassroots activists encountered voter suppression techniques employed to dilute the Black vote after the Civil Rights Movement.

摘要：

本文探讨了一项名为“Blocks for Freedom”的投票权运动，该运动于 1966 年发起，旨在帮助密西西比州克莱县的一群农村非裔美国妇女保护她们的投票权。即使在 1965 年投票权法案通过后，这些黑人妇女在投票方面仍面临重大障碍。当地白人治安维持者和县行政人员使用暴力和非正式经济制裁的威胁来惩罚登记投票的黑人公民。“自由之块”试图通过为黑人妇女创造就业机会来规避这些限制，这些就业机会将提供生活工资并保护她们的投票能力。这项创新运动由密西西比州的贫困妇女和纽约市的民权倡导者领导，展示了草根活动人士如何遭遇民权运动后用于稀释黑人选票的选民压制手段。