The adoption of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965 enfranchised millions of Americans and is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. And yet fifty years later we are still fighting heated battles over race, representation, and political power--over the right to vote, the central pillar of our democracy. Berman's latest book, _Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America_, gives a groundbreaking narrative history of voting rights since 1965. From new strategies to keep minorities out of the voting booth, to cynical efforts to limit political representation by gerrymandering electoral districts, to the Supreme Court's recent stunning decision that declared a key part of the Voting Rights Act itself unconstitutional, to the efforts by the Justice Department and grassroots activists to counter these attacks, Berman tells the dramatic story of the pitched contest over the very heart of our democracy. (Image: [Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t](https://www.flickr.com/photos/truthout/6211660601/ ""))