On April 25, 1960, a federal court in Memphis issued a consent judgment that struck down discriminatory voter suppression practices in Fayette County, Tennessee. This historic ruling marked the first voting rights case successfully brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The case emerged after Black residents, many of them sharecroppers, faced systematic disenfranchisement, economic retaliation, and intimidation for attempting to register to vote. Known as part of the “Tent City” resistance, these families were evicted from their homes and forced to live in makeshift shelters, yet they persisted in demanding equal rights. The court’s ruling affirmed their right to vote and helped pave the way for broader civil rights victories in the South.
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