Behind the headlines we remember from the Civil Rights Movement was an organized effort to teach African-Americans the literacy and civic skills they needed to register to vote--how to sign their names, how to read parts of the state constitution and how to hold their heads up as citizens. We ask author Elaine Weiss about her new book, 'Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement.'
Links: The Associated Press coverage of the Voting Rights Act at 60, The 19th: The Voting Rights Act turns 60 — but its promise is still under threat, Brennan Center for Justice: Six Key Moments on the Road to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, League of Women Voters: The Voting Rights Act: Then and Now.
