The attack on and death of James Reeb helped draw national attention to the voting rights struggle. The death of a white minister drew the personal attention of President Lyndon B. Johnson. On March 15, President Johnson publicly advocated for the passage of a strengthened voting rights bill in a televised address to Congress. Congress subsequently passed the Voting Rights Act, and President Johnson signed it into law in August 1965. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/