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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLest We Forget Jul 2, 1964: Today in Democratic History
And this: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/johnson-signs-civil-rights-act
President Johnson signs Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
On this day in 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.
In the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The 10 years that followed saw great strides for the African-American civil rights movement, as non-violent demonstrations won thousands of supporters to the cause. Memorable landmarks in the struggle included the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955--sparked by the refusal of Alabama resident Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a city bus to a white woman--and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech at a rally of hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., in 1963.
As the strength of the civil rights movement grew, John F. Kennedy made passage of a new civil rights bill one of the platforms of his successful 1960 presidential campaign. As Kennedy's vice president, Johnson served as chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Johnson vowed to carry out his proposals for civil rights reform.
FULL story at link.
Faygo Kid
(21,478 posts)Old enough to remember it all. LBJ was an extraordinary man, but totally flawed and insecure. He didn't have the courage to cut our losses in Vietnam, yet he was passionate about civil rights. Great book. Great series. What a moment it was when he signed the Civil Rights Act, and in 1965, the Voting Rights Act. Could never happen today.
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)this was true because many Democrats were from the South, because of the bloody shirt.
There was also, in this history, Hubert H Humphrey's speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts):allchokedup:
BumRushDaShow
(128,905 posts)And still fighting for those rights!
freshwest
(53,661 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)That was the day i became a Democrat for life. Easy decision.
Rhiannon12866
(205,265 posts)Thanks!
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)"We have lost the South for a generation"
-With those words reportedly spoken to Bill Moyers after signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, LBJ showed that he actually underestimated the power of racism to affect our politics. If generations are counted in 20 year increments, we're now in the middle of the 3rd generation and the South is still lost.
SunSeeker
(51,550 posts)And by absorbing the racist Dixiecrats, the Republicans lost their soul, apparently permanently.
Omaha Steve
(99,618 posts)But he was right.
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)both Carter and Clinton and Gore did fairly well in the south, and there are still some southern Senators and Representatives aren't there?
turtlerescue1
(1,013 posts)BUT at least it was forward and not in reverse.