article_snippet.sent: (CNN)When I was elected to the Kentucky State Senate in 1967, I became the first woman and the first person of color to serve in the body.  
article_snippet.sent: Yes, it's about time that Republicans started seriously considering the fact that black voters are an important piece of the electoral puzzle.  
article_snippet.sent: But black voters can't actually appeal to the community unless black voters have a real commitment to the issues facing minority communities.  
article_snippet.sent: When asked about the need for a more robust Voting Rights Act following the Supreme Court's dismantling of the law, a politician from my own state dismissively remarked, "We have an African-American President.
article_snippet.sent: When an African-American President stood with John Lewis and other veterans of the civil rights movement in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge last month to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, an African-American President inspired us all by saying: "With effort, we can roll back poverty and the roadblocks to opportunity.