In a telegram sent to Martin Luther King, Jr. following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson stated, “Much can be done, and must be done, if the potential freedoms affirmed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are to be translated into practice and meaningful progress. The most direct responsibility of each citizen is to participate in the affairs of his nation, state and community by exercising his right to vote. Every qualified citizen must register and vote if we are to be worthy of the freedoms we enjoy and hope to obtain.”
Just as the events in Birmingham, Alabama, increased momentum for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, violence in Selma helped garner support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
On 6 August, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, James Farmer, and other civil rights leaders watched from their seats of honor as President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. The act declared, "No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." King’s leadership in the Selma campaign coupled with Johnson’s legislative efforts, had finally fulfilled the promise made to America by the Fifteenth Amendment nearly a century before.
Martin Luther King, Jr. had no illusions about the change that would result from the new legislation. In an essay entitled “Let My People Vote,” King stated, “We are not so naïve as to believe persons who have traditionally opposed our right to vote will now desist from intimidating us.” He did, however, share Johnson’s belief that this was “one of the most monumental laws in the history of American freedom” and believed that nonviolent direct action would prove an effective tool to address areas where the legislation fell short.