Obstacles to voting access and rights at levels not seen since the civil rights-era are key sources of inequality and threaten democracy, according to the "State of Black America" report released Monday by the National Urban League.

"Attacks on voting rights and on democracy have escalated to a level not seen since the 1960s," Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League, said Monday at an event for the report's release.

African Americans' voting rights have been under assault over the past 10 years, he said and pointed to voting obstacles on the state and national levels and particularly highlighted the role of Russian online influence in inflaming divisions in social media.