American Democracy and the Promise of Justice

Topic Three

Civil Rights, Equal Rights, 1960s

“During the 1960s, more than in any previous era, the Supreme Court sided with racial minorities against their oppressors. By this date, the justices were following the lead of Congress and the president, who were, in turn, reflecting a transformation in public opinion on race.”¹⁷  In 1963, over 25,000 Americans marched on Washington for civil rights.

"The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. First proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. In subsequent years, Congress expanded the act and passed additional civil rights legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965."¹⁸

The Civil Rights Act drafted by the Kennedy administration in 1963, which would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was grown out of a moral narrative of the time. Included in the bill were such rights as voting rights, desegregation of schools, housing, and employment opportunities, as well as other rights to African Americans, per the Whalen’s book The Longest Debate.¹⁹ Robert Mann states in The Walls of Jericho that once LBJ assumed the presidency from the slain John Kennedy, he used Humphrey, now majority whip, to pry Republican Everett Dirksen away from the Southern Democrats to support the far tougher Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.²⁰

As noted in The Longest Debate, Charles and Barbara Whalen showed how Lyndon B. Johnson exhibited strong leadership skills when he supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which “included many titles that would ensure, voting rights and provided for the desegregation of education, houses, employment, etc. as well as other terms to provide rights to African Americans.”²¹ Due to opposition from Conservative Southern Democrats, the Johnson administration knew that it needed Republican support, or the bill would not have a chance of passing. They knew they must work with the Republican leadership. Both parties wanted a bill that stood a chance of passing rather than an idealistic bill that would die in Congress.

Democrats and Republicans worked across the aisle to secure the rights of and understanding the national political situation during this time period, also showing leadership. The bill was sent up to the full House, was passed by a clear majority, and sent to the Senate. In June of 1964, the Senate passed the legislation. With a few minor amendments, they returned the bill back to the full House and passed the Senate’s version. Following the bill’s passage through Congress, it was sent to the White House where it was signed into law by President Johnson.

Johnson’s actions helped the bill to pass through both the House and Congress, where President Johnson signed it into law. On March 25, 1965, "more than 500 non-violent civil rights marchers are attacked by law enforcement officers while attempting to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to demand the need for African American voting rights."²²

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was "signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."²³ It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many Southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite. The Voting Rights Act is considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.²⁴

Beyond being a narration of events, David Garrow in his book Protest at Selma provides an in-depth look at the political strategy of Dr. King and of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Garrow tells us how Dr. King’s awareness of media coverage of the protests—especially reports of white violence against peaceful African American protestors would elicit sympathy for the cause and lead to a powerful shift for change. Garrow analyzes these tactics and the news reports surrounding these events providing a deeper understanding of how civil rights activists used a nonviolent approach to achieve success in the face of great opposition and ultimately brought about monumental political change. The events at Selma as narrated by Garrow in Protests at Selma show Dr. King’s leadership.²⁵