Equality for all Americans?

Abstract: The Supreme Court declared §4(b) of the Voting Right Act (1965) unconstitutional in the case of Shelby County v Holder 570 U.S. in 2013. This is a recent decision regarding disenfranchisement towards African Americans which ends up not protecting the civil rights of all American citizens. Discrimination is nothing new in the United States but has become institutionalized over time which makes it harder to detect and prevent. The aim of this essay is to explore and present the current notion of voting discrimination against African Americans. This is done with the help of Critical Race Theory through a qualitative discourse analysis of the official insertions of two Supreme Court Justices and the Opinion of the Court. The analysis has displayed that White privilege is embedded in the structures and manifested by the insistence of claiming neutrality to the law and colorblindness. Consequently, the Shelby County v. Holder enhanced the negative discourse surrounding voting discrimination against African Americans by proclaim equal state sovereignty superior instead of disenfranchisement.