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African Americans could vote 1865. The first one to be elected was Edward Brooke in 1966.

The 15th amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1870 and gave former male slaves the legal right to vote. However, many southern states added requirements such as literacy tests and poll taxes that were designed to keep blacks from voting. In 1957, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act that made it difficult to deny voting rights based on race.
African Americans were granted the right to vote in the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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11y ago

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