History Votes

In Mr. Bryant’s U.S. History class, students did not just read about voter suppression. They faced it.

On Wednesday, the class took a version of the Louisiana literacy test, the same type of exam once used to block African-Americans from voting during the Jim Crow era. On paper, it looked simple, but in reality, it was vague. The students learned that, as Mr. Bryant told them, to work through each problem out loud and discuss it as a class.

He used copies of the original 1960s test, which required applicants to answer 30 questions in just 10 minutes. Many questions were intentionally vague and worded in a way that prompted the class to argue over and dissect definitions of words such as "line", "letter", and even "word". They were frustrated to learn that even after answering all the questions, African-American applicants were often still denied. They quickly realized it was a trap. One lesson learned was that a test can appear neutral while still acting as an obstacle.

A question on the test instructed them to “draw a line around the number or letter of this sentence.” Another required them to “circle the first, first letter of the alphabet in this line.” Several directions contradicted each other. Some tasks depended on precise formatting or interpretation that was never clearly defined. Another question had them write a "cross" above a letter in a sentence. Is a "cross" the religious symbol or an X? The answer is up to the test administrator.

At the end of class, they had a better understanding of US history and how language, law, and authority intersect. That lesson made history less abstract.

Take the test yourself.