I'm not sure I missed something. When LBJ wins the election the newsguy says he had 90-something percent of the negro vote, and somebody watching (maybe MLK) says "LBJ knows he owes us this. Now he must give us the right to vote."
Did I get this right? They voted for LBJ before they were given the right to vote?
Yes, because LBJ made the first step which was the Civil Rights Bill, 1964, Voting Rights Bill came after in 1965. But in 2014 Dixiecrats now Republicans had their revenge and gutted the Voting Rights bill. So it continues
shareAfter the civil war to the time in movie, there were certain "literacy tests" that a black person must pass in order to vote (includes certain education qualification as well). The whites were exempted from such test because the law stated that if your grandfather was eligible to vote and didn't have to take this test then you don't need to either (the reason where "grandfathered clause" came from). Most of these test were deliberately made hard so that there is less African-American turnout (these tests are displayed at LBJ presidential library in Austin).
MLK and many other blacks were highly educated despite the discrimination they faced and were able to qualify for voting. These are the votes that MLK was talking about. Voting rights act was legislation to basically remove this.