George Wallace National Guard Brig. Gen. Henry Graham informs Gov. George Wallace, right, that the guard is under federal control as the two meet at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on June 11, 1963. Associated Press

It's hard to believe it was only 50 years ago that Alabama's governor physically tried to stop two black students from integrating the University of Alabama.

Gov. George Wallace's infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door" on June 11, 1963 prompted John F. Kennedy Jr. to beg Congress to pass a comprehensive civil rights bill.


Of course, Congress did pass comprehensive civil rights laws. Now, Shelby County, Ala. is trying to convince the Supreme Court to undo a law passed in that era — the Voting Rights Act, which has been called our "most important" civil rights law.

The VRA requires states that have discriminated against minority voters in the past to get permission from the federal government before changing their election laws.

These days, the federal government uses the VRA to block laws that make it harder for blacks, Hispanics, and low-income voters to get to the polls (including voter ID laws).

During arguments in the VRA case, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia raised a lot of eyebrows when he called the law "racial entitlement." John Roberts caused a stir himself when he asked a lawyer for the South whether the federal government still thinks Southerners are racist.

Based on the arguments in February, top Supreme Court attorney Tom Goldstein predicted the high court would do away with the landmark law. The decision is due this month.