(CNN) -- This month marks the anniversary of many historical milestones in the continuing effort to guarantee equal rights to all Americans. The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, granting women the right to vote. On August 28, 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. marched for civil rights and delivered his clarion call for a more just America on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. And, 45 years ago Friday, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act. That law has proved to be one of the most successful civil rights laws in our nation's history, extending to millions of Americans the right to vote and the opportunity to participate more fully in our democracy. In celebrating its 45th anniversary, we must also remember that passing the Voting Rights Act and other civil rights laws was no easy feat.
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Amendment passed after Civil War was supposed to guarantee former slaves right to vote
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In reality, states found ways to deny people voting rights, says Donna Brazile
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Passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 finally ensured the right to vote, she says
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Brazile: States today are fashioning new ways to deny voting rights
Recall that it wasn't in @placeholder's political interest to forge ahead on civil rights policies, but it was the right thing to do for the country.