# "Take the Impossible “Literacy” Test Louisiana Gave Black Voters in the 1960s" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439 "2013-07-14T01:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/21 "2013-07-14T10:08:08Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Fairly straightforward I think.I had always heard tests had questions like “how many bubbles in a bar of soap” and “what is the colour of the first lady’s sister-in-laws favourite hat”. This seems almost reasonable by comparison. I think this sort of thing is even more insidious, because you can argue that it’s reasonable when it’s not. It’s harder to do that when your questions are as transparently dumb as “How many watermelons do sheep radio in June?” ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/22 "2013-07-14T10:20:39Z")
This test makes no sense at all even to someone who is fully literate. You cannot draw a line around something. You can encircle something. You can draw a box around something. You can draw a line under something. No idea what possibility they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/23 "2013-07-14T10:36:21Z")
> [@Mathematics](#): > > You cannot draw a line around something. Sure you can. A line doesn’t have to be straight. It can be curved. Even in geometry the term “straight line” is used to avoid ambiguity. Not that I’m justifying the test, and I’ll admit the wording is from someone quite uneducated. Ironic, no? ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/24 "2013-07-14T11:05:11Z")
The Louisiana test bears no resemblance to anything rationale, but one question from the Alabama test bears close resemblance to the types of questions asked on the civics test for naturalization today in 2013. > [@](#): > > …from the Alabama test: “Name the attorney general of the United States” USCIS Civics Naturalization test study guide [PDF Link](http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Publications/100q.pdf) [quote] From the Naturalization study guide:[ul] [li]What are two Cabinet-level positions?[/li][li]Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?[/li][li]What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?[/li][li]Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?[/li][li]Name your U.S. Representative.[/li][li]What is the name of the President of the United States now?[/li][li]Who is the Governor of your state now?[/li][li]What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?[/li][li]The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.[/ul][/li][/quote] … and many more trivia questions. Those questions are asked of people who hold Lawful Permanent Resident status (green card holders) who are seeking to gain US citizenship. If the applicant does not pass this test then he/she does not gain citizenship and the right to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/25 "2013-07-14T12:13:00Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I’m sure that nobody ever passed it. It probably was only given to people that they didn’t want to register, that is, blacks. All others were waived the test for some reason or other, e.g. they “could prove a fifth grade education”. Black Guy - I’d like to vote please. I enjoy exercising my franchise in this wonderfully constructed democracy of ours. Ballot person - Can you prove you have passed the fifth grade? Black Guy - Well, no. I don’t actually have the certificate of completion upon me but I assure you that I have in fact attained that degree of education and significantly more. Ballot person - Take the test. White Guy - I wanna vote Ballot person - Have you passed grade five? White guy - I dunno. I done some schoolin’. Ballot person - Here’s your ballot. ---
**Author:** ![Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/26 "2013-07-14T12:21:16Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > snip…Not that I’m justifying the test, and I’ll admit **the wording is from someone quite uneducated.** Ironic, no? emphasis mine I disagree with the assertion - made by others as well as you - that the test was written by an uneducated monkey. Those questions are so ambiguously and deceptively worded that you would have to consciously attempt to design the test that way. Find an uneducated idiot and ask them to design a test that serves the purpose with such ruthless efficiency and still superficially seems legit. Doubt they will succeed. Such perfect cruelty is never the result of monkeys on typewriters. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/27 "2013-07-14T12:39:07Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > I disagree with the assertion - made by others as well as you - that the test was written by an uneducated monkey. Well, I didn’t really make such an assertion. I wouldn’t want to offend any monkey. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/28 "2013-07-14T12:48:43Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > 1. What does that even mean? I think they mean to circle “1.”. Or maybe circling the period would get me marked wrong? Also, so I don’t have to keep saying it. “Draw a line around” is a bit… odd. Why not just say “encircle”? When I was in elementary school in the 1970s, “draw a line around” was the standard phrasing used in workbooks > [@Mathematics](#): > > You cannot draw a line around something. You can encircle something. You can draw a box around something. You can draw a line under something. That’s only true if you assume the sole definition of “line” is the one used in mathematics. When you’re drawing with a pencil on paper for the purposes of artistic expression, a line doesn’t have to be straight. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/29 "2013-07-14T14:01:34Z")
Far too subtle. I am ashamed to say that my country’s history is besmirched by the White Australia Policy, operating from very early in the 20th century, whereby customs officers were simply given the power to exclude anyone not European. There was some outrage over the racism of this, so a dictation test was devised, which meant that a prospective entrant could be asked to pass dictation in any European language. Note, not any European language of the entrant’s choice. Any European language of the customs officer’s choice. Indonesians who could speak Dutch were tested in Hungarian. A political activist who spoke many European languages was eventually failed when tested in Gaelic. Just bastardry. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/30 "2013-07-14T14:29:41Z")
The US also had restrictions on immigration. Until a [1965 law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965), the US favored emigration from northern and western Europeans over emigrants from elsewhere in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/31 "2013-07-14T15:16:48Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > emphasis mine > > I disagree with the assertion - made by others as well as you - that the test was written by an uneducated monkey. > > Those questions are so ambiguously and deceptively worded that you would have to consciously attempt to design the test that way. This is part of what is pinging my BS meter. The more I look at this test, the more I think it’s not what it purports to be. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/32 "2013-07-14T15:20:15Z")
You suspect it’s a fake because it is too effective? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/33 "2013-07-14T15:59:33Z")
The linked article from Slate in the OP describes the writer’s attempts at finding original copies of these tests. I’m surprised it was that hard. Surely the National Civil Rights Museum, the National Museum of American History or the Library of Congress would have original examples in their archives. At the very least, I’d expect that copies would have been introduced in Congress during the debate over the Voting Rights Act of 1965. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/34 "2013-07-14T16:10:26Z")
I would like to read the whole Slate article, but about a quarter of it is blocked by a section of ads on the top left of the page. Anyone know how to get rid of the damn thing?-- I don’t see any little “x” to close the ads with, and they even block part of the registration screen for those who don’t want to give Slate a free ticket to their Facebook friends list. I share the outrage generally expressed in this thread over the literacy test. That little pig Scalia probably would probably like to display a copy of it on an honored section of his office wall right next to his diplomas. And I guess Roberts can be expected to cave in to the Right Wing total troglodyte faction 100% of the time from now on since they gave the poor widdle fewwow such a hard time over his ObamaCare vote. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/35 "2013-07-14T16:18:37Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I would like to read the whole Slate article, but about a quarter of it is blocked by a section of ads on the top left of the page. Anyone know how to get rid of the damn thing? I turned off my ad blocker and visited the Slate page. I think I’m seeing the ad you’re referring to. But it disappeared when I refreshed the page. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/36 "2013-07-14T16:54:54Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > You suspect it’s a fake because it is too effective? It has a ring of being “too perfect,” yes. I’m not saying it’s definitely fake at all–but I think a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted here. Like **Dewey Finn** says, why is it so hard to track down the originals, and why is this only surfacing now, not during the debate over the Voting Rights Act? It’s possible they were just really well-hidden/covered-up and didn’t surface until now, sure, but I want a few more pieces of evidence before I take it at face value. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/37 "2013-07-14T17:31:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I turned off my ad blocker and visited the Slate page. I think I’m seeing the ad you’re referring to. But it disappeared when I refreshed the page. Thanks for the information. I’m afraid refresh (reload on Chrome?) doesn’t do the trick for me. I use the AVG free edition and have never had any problem anywhere else besides Slate with a text-blocking immovable ad. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/38 "2013-07-14T18:16:42Z")
Well, I have no evidence regarding whether this particular document is genuine, but I will say that my Voting Rights Law professor, who had worked on many voting rights cases in the South, described the literacy tests in a way that fits this one pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/39 "2013-07-14T20:29:49Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > I would like to read the whole Slate article, but about a quarter of it is blocked by a section of ads on the top left of the page. Anyone know how to get rid of the damn thing?-- I don’t see any little “x” to close the ads with . . . Here’s a trick I often use, with reasonable success (sometimes): When a portion of text is covered by something else, it is often still possible to highlight the text, by holding the Shift Key down and moving your mouse over the portion that IS visible. For example, you could select whole paragraphs (or more) this way, including the covered portion. Then, copy that to your clipboard, then open any editor window of your choice (Notepad, gedit, whatever), paste there, and you can read that. Works for me, in many cases. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439/40 "2013-07-14T20:57:28Z")
Second part of question #7: “Then set it on fire.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-the-impossible-literacy-test-louisiana-gave-black-voters-in-the-1960s/663439.md?page=3)