This Day in History: 0000-08-09
August 6, 1975- “Voting Rights Act of 1975 Requires Bilingual Ballots” “In 1975, Congress made major amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Civil rights organizations that represented Hispanic, Asian American, Native Alaskan and Native American interests successfully argued before Congress that such groups were victims of discriminatory voting practices, particularly in places where English was not the dominant language. This prompted Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act to
require voting districts carry bilingual ballots in certain areas of the country.”
September 12, 1992 - “Dr. Mae Jemison Goes to Space” "Dr. Mae Jemison, an engineer, physician and NASA astronaut, became the first African-American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. During her 8-day mission she worked with U.S. and Japanese researchers, and was a co-investigator on a bone cell experiment. Jemison originally practiced as a doctor, then served in the Peace Corps from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, she was selected to join the astronaut corps. She resigned from NASA in 1993 to found a company that researches the application of technology to daily life."