ATLANTA – Thousands of chanting demonstrators marched along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Saturday, then packed a rally at Morris Brown College to commemorate the 1965 Voting Rights Act and underscore the electoral threats to black Americans if temporary provisions of the landmark law are not re-authorized by 2007.

The spirited rally under a sweltering sun was organized by Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition on the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and was attended by students, educators, young people, seniors and a host of celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, comedian Dick Gregory, Harry Belafonte, Roberta Flack and Willie Nelson.

"You got the right to vote," Jackson, the founder of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition shouted to the crowd. "Everybody got a right to vote -- that’s the message. This land is our land. The right to vote -- protect it."

Carrying signs that read "Your Vote is Your Choice" and "We’re Not Going Back," black marchers filled the streets and later sat in bleachers at Herndon Stadium for several hours listening to speeches and music.

Demonstrators also used the rally to protest Georgia's recently passed voter identification law, which critics say is the most restrictive law in the country.

Stevie Wonder told the crowd that it’s "ridiculous" that in 2005, black Americans must stage mass demonstrations to demand their right to vote. But he said the cause is just.

In an interview, Jackson said most Americans are not aware that the right to vote is not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution.

The Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress and signed by Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The civil rights legislation, Jackson said, provides protection for voters against actions taken by states to limit participation in the electoral process, actions most often targeted toward black, Hispanic and low income citizens.

Several key provisions of the legislation expire in 2007, and Jackson said the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is campaigning for the extension of the law. 

Organizers said an estimated 15,000 people attended the rally, which also included Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Bruce S. Gordon, president of the NAACP, and several congressional leaders, such as Rep. John Conyers (D-MI); Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY); Rep. John Lewis (D-GA); Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Maxine Waters (D-CA).

"Forty years later, we're still marching for the right to vote," said Lewis, who helped secure passage of the law in 1965. "Don't give up, don't give in. Keep the faith, Keep your eyes on the prize."

Waters said Republicans are trying to undermine minorities.

"We’re here to take on President Bush," Waters said to wild applause. "We’re here to take on the new nominee to the Supreme Court, John Roberts."

Civil rights leaders also cited the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as examples for why the Voting Rights Act is so critical to minorities, as thousands of votes by black Americans were thrown out on technicalities in Florida and Ohio.

Key provisions of the Voting Rights Act include:

• Section 5, which requires that places with a history of voter discrimination get federal approval for any changes in voting procedures.
• Section 203, which requires more than 450 counties and townships to provide bilingual language assistance to limited English speaking voters.
• Section 6-9, which authorizes the Department of Justice to appoint examiners and send observers to the polls to report discriminatory activities.

Conservative groups and Republicans argue that some sections of the law are obsolete, especially Section 5.

Ebony Beverly, 18, a freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi, said she and a group of young people from Hattiesburg, Mississippi took a bus trip to Atlanta to attend the march and rally.

"We want to show that our vote is important," Beverly told BlackAmericaWeb.com Saturday. "We as a young generation need to learn the importance of our vote."

Meanwhile, Jackson said the Voting Rights Act will impact future generations, like Beverly.

"We need to act with a sense of desperation," Jackson told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Our right to vote is in jeopardy, and the radical right-wing is trying to undermine our right to vote."

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) echoed sentiments that the Voting Rights Act protects those who were "abused and discriminated" against during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. She said the United States is still the "laughing stock of the world" because of two "failed" elections.

"This is clearly a wake-up call for America," Jackson Lee told BlackAmericaWeb.com last week. Through the re-authorization of the Voting Rights Act, she said, "We’ve got a challenge to put back together the Humpty-Dumpty of the election system."

Black residents in Kilmichael, Mississippi, population 830, personally understand the importance of the Voting Rights Act. In the local elections of 2001, just three weeks before the election, the town’s all-white council cancelled the elections. The Department of Justice said the decision was a violation of the Voting Rights Act and intervened. In 2003, under federal supervision, the town elected its first black mayor and three black aldermen.

"A lot of racial progress has been made since 1965, but we cannot let our guard down and allow key provisions of the Voting Rights Act to expire," Gordon, president of the NAACP, said in a statement.

Although the rally was overwhelmingly Democrat, Republicans have also recently weighed in on the issue.

"As America marks the 40 years of progress since the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we are not only recognizing a law that helped expand the circle of freedom and opportunity to every citizen, but we are also saluting the efforts of the courageous leaders in both parties who united to enable the enfranchisement of millions of Americans," Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement.

But Democratic leaders questioned the GOP’s sincerity.

"We think the Republicans have no right to ask for the African-American vote unless they re-authorize the Voting Rights Act," Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told BlackAmericaWeb.com last week.

"Clearly the [GOP] ‘Southern Strategy’ is alive and well," Dean said in an interview. "Forty years later, there is still enormous pressure to suppress African-American votes, mostly by the Republican Party. The Voting Rights Act is absolutely essential for blacks and Hispanics."

Jackson said that in the 40 years since the Voting Rights Act was passed, black Americans in public office have made significant progress, from 300 in 1964 to more than 9,100 today; from three members of Congress to 43 today. More than 6,000 blacks have been elected and appointed nationwide.

The rally, which attracted national attention, was supported by a number of major civil rights organizations, including the AFL-CIO; Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; the NAACP; the National Education Association and the National Urban League.

Sylvia Hawthorn, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said she helped organize five buses of young people -- all NAACP members –--who participated in the march and rally.

"The young generation is our future," Hawthorn told BlackAmericaWeb.com Saturday. "That’s why they’re here."