Sixty years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, concerns about voting rights and suppression remain at the forefront of American political discussion. Thelton Henderson, a retired federal judge and visiting professor at UC Berkeley Law, reflected on these ongoing challenges in an interview marking the anniversary.
Henderson, who witnessed the segregated South as an attorney for the Department of Justice during the 1960s, warned that efforts to restrict voting access are resurging. He pointed to recent developments such as voter ID laws, aggressive purging of voter rolls, and restrictions on mail-in voting as examples of modern tactics that can limit participation by people of color and economically disadvantaged groups.
He also discussed how both Republican-led states like Texas and Democratic-led states like California have engaged in gerrymandering to shape electoral outcomes. Henderson expressed concern about signals from the U.S. Supreme Court that it may further weaken protections established by the Voting Rights Act.
“Getting rid of the Voting Rights Act, dismantling it little by little — we’ll go back to the days preferred by those who don’t want the descendants of slaves to have any voting rights or any power in this country,” Henderson said. “That’s what I see happening.”
Henderson has had a long career marked by involvement in civil rights issues. After graduating from Berkeley Law in 1962, he worked with figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., developed programs for recruiting people of color into legal careers, and served as a U.S. District Court judge from 1980 to 2017. In recognition of his contributions, UC Berkeley recently established the Thelton E. Henderson Chair in Civil Rights Law with a $6 million endowment.
Reflecting on historical patterns, Henderson described persistent struggles over voting rights since Reconstruction: “There’s been this tug-of-war within the history of this country… It’s still lingering.” He cited ongoing attempts to limit minority representation through gerrymandering and other measures: “If we diminish the Voting Rights Act, you’re going to have less of a vote, less of a voice, by racial minorities and by people less fortunate financially.”
Henderson also recalled moments from his time with the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, including working on cases following violent resistance to civil rights campaigns in Mississippi and Alabama during the 1960s. He described how legal victories were sometimes undermined by hostile judges or limited enforcement powers before passage of comprehensive legislation.
The retired judge noted that while significant progress has been made over recent decades, current political dynamics present new challenges: “We’ve made remarkable progress in recent years, but I think we’re at a point now where the other side has more leverage… They’re pushing us back — and they’re winning this war right now.”
Despite expressing discouragement about recent trends—including Supreme Court appointments he sees as ideologically driven—Henderson called for renewed activism: “I’m getting older but I’ve got to go fight some more… We need everybody who’s offended by this to pick up their tools and join the battle again and keep working to push us forward.”
The interview was conducted by UC Berkeley News and has been edited for clarity and length.
