What made the Voting Rights Act real, what forced desegregation, were the local political leaders who made it so. They were often normal men and women who saw modest progress as less harmful than obstinacy. The school boards afraid of lawsuits began to experiment with integration, and the county elections boards eventually caved in to the demands of the federal Department of Justice. But the most compelling reason for change was often the desire to garner the additional ballots represented by a new cadre of eligible voters: Blacks who could finally influence elections.
