Letter from Lani Guinier to New York Times Editor re Voting Rights Act

Correspondence
June 17, 1982

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LDF Attorney
- Lani Guinier
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- LDF
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- Lani Guinier Correspondence
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- Lani Guinier Correspondence
U.S. state
- General
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- Legal Department General
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- 3e06300b-e492-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873

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Legal Department General, Lani Guinier Correspondence. Letter from Lani Guinier to New York Times Editor re Voting Rights Act, 1982. 3e06300b-e492-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/de57cdd6-f828-4563-9709-2b77a16e4359/letter-from-lani-guinier-to-new-york-times-editor-re-voting-rights-act. Accessed April 19, 2025.

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June 17, lgBZ

Letters to the Edltor
The New York Times
229 West 43rO Street
New York, N.Y. 10036

Dear S1r:

We wrlte to ampllfy the remarks of Lanl Guinler on the
Votlng Rlghts Act quoted in part 1n the Week In Revlew,
June 13, 1982. There should be more minorlty members in
bhe legislatures because they provide perspective to other
members that for too long has been absent, serve as role
models for young people: present posltlve lmages for al-l
people, and by their presence restrain the use of offenslve
language which adversely affects decislon making, and is
stilI heard too often in legislatlve halls. But merely
electlng more mlnority candidates is not the purpose of the
Votlng Rlghts Act. It ai-ms to give mlnorlty voters the
opportunlty to elect representatlves of thelr cholce, black
or whlte. Some have argued that lt does not matter whether
a concentratlon of mlnori-ty voters ls carved up into two,
three or more districts because the representatives of those
distrlcts mltst take all constltuentsr views into account.
However, equal access to the po11tlcal process cannot be
afforded when a mlnority community 1s gerrymandered lnto
several smaller minorities in a number of districts on the
supposition that they will be able to lnfluence two or three
elected officlals. Experience teaches that 1n sltuatlons
whlch still exlst, wlth a racially polarlzed el-ectorate and
a history of dlscrlmlnatlon, these racial fragments have
Llttle or no lnfluence at all. 0n the other hand, when the
minority community is sltuated so that lt can elect an advo-
cate of whatever race, it is much more llkely there w111 be
falr representatlon.

Contributiona are deductible for U,S. income tar purposeg

Ths NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EOUCATI0NAL FUND is not part ol tho National Association lor the Advancement ol Colored People although it
was lounded by it and shares its commitment lo equal rights. LDF has had lor over 25 yoars a separate Board, program, stafl, oflice and budget.

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.
l0ColumbusCircle, NewYork, N.Y.10019 c (212) 586-8397

-2- June 17, 1982

LeglsLators 1s lmportant. . Farleglslators of al1 races andrepresent the mlnorlty commun_

Defense Fund, Inc.
Ms. IQr,rra'i. Murphy

, ACLU, .Leglslatlve Representatlve

Laughlln McDonald, Esq.Dlrector, Southern Reglonal Offlce ACLU

Armand'Derfner, Esq.
Jolnt Center fon polltlbal Studles

LG/r

. i- t

18 63
18 64

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Letter from Lani Guinier to New York Times Editor re Voting Rights Act

LDF Attorney

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U.S. state

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Cite this item

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