We Shall Not Be Denied: A Timeline of Voting Rights and Suppression in America

If you're under 18, you might be thinking, "Why do voting rights matter to me? I'm too young to vote." Voting is how our country chooses government leaders to make important decisions that affect all our lives. When one citizen is denied their right to vote, their voice is silenced. Everyone deserves a voice.

Throughout the history of the US, many Americans from underrepresented groups have fought, suffered, or died for the right to vote. Their hard work and courage has allowed many to gain the right to vote. But challenges remain and affect many voters.

This book will help you learn more about voting and understand why the right to vote is important. Even if you are not old enough to vote, you can make a difference. Get informed about our country's leaders. Make your voice heard. And spread the word about the importance of voting!

Born and raised in White Earth, Minnesota, Cayla Bellanger DeGroat is an enrolled member of Gaa-waabaabiganikaag, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. She is a life-long student of Indigenous history and federal Indian policy with a Bachelor of Arts in American Indian Studies and Master of Tribal Administration and Governance from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Cicely Lewis is a school librarian with a passion for creating lovers of reading based in Georgia. In 2017, she started the Read Woke challenge in response to the shootings of young unarmed black people, the repeal of DACA, and the lack of diversity in young adult literature. She was named the 2020 National Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal and Scholastic, a 2019 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and the 2019 National Teacher Award for Lifelong Readers by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Penguin Random House (PRH).