Voter rights were the main point of contention for the delegates at the 1868 and 1890 constitutional conventions. Arguments about who could vote stemmed from Mississippi’s refusal to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to Black men, but the 1890 Constitution’s requirements to qualify made it nearly impossible to exercise their right.
Pictured: A black and white composite photograph. Twenty-five Black leaders in Mississippi are placed around two photographs of buildings. At top is a photograph of the Old Capitol. The bottom photograph is of a manufacturing building. The text on the bottom left reads: "Compiled and Published by L.W. West Manaway, MD…AM. Jackson, Miss. Copyright 1909. All Rights Reserved." The bottom right text reads: "Negro Lawyers and other Historic Characters of Mississippi."
Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-36642
