The second speaker on Wednesday was Lewis Burke, professor of Law at the Department of Clinical Legal Studies at the University of South Carolina. He gave our study group a short introduction into the legal history of Civil Rights in South Carolina. Burke emphasized the discrimination towards black voters which continues to exist in some parts of the United States till today. After the end of the Civil War African Americans were enfranchised. However, this new won legal freedom didn't exist for a long time. During Reconstruction Black Codes were enacted which limited and discriminated the civil rights for African Americans, including the right to vote. He also mentioned in this context the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Burke furthermore talked about the establishment of the NAACP in South Carolina, the significance of voter registrations, Voter Identification Laws and the current situation in South Carolina. His very interesting short talk about Civil Rights in South Carolina gave an overview on how the legal history of Civil Rights developed; at the same time it showed that this development is still in process. Burke concluded his talk by arguing that South Carolina needs a new voting rights act in order to stop voter harassment.
Ewa
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