[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

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                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2014

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 50th 
Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Since its passage on July 2, 
1964, this landmark legislation ended segregation in public places and 
banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or 
national origin.
  After the Civil War, three Constitutional Amendments were adopted to 
abolish slavery, grant former slaves citizenship and allow all men the 
right to vote regardless of race. Following a brief period of 
Reconstruction, Congress did not pass any civil rights legislation 
until 1957 when the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and 
a Commission on Civil Rights were established.
  Following the conclusion of the Birmingham Bus Boycott in May 1963, 
President John F. Kennedy proposed a comprehensive civil rights bill in 
June 1963. He stated then that the United States ``will not be fully 
free until all of its citizens are free.''
  Passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 required the masterful 
legislative savvy of President Lyndon B. Johnson. In his first State of 
the Union address he urged, ``Let this session of Congress be known as 
the session which did more for civil rights that the last hundred 
sessions combined.'' The ban on employment discrimination against women 
was introduced as an amendment thought to be a mischievous attempt to 
kill the bill. The amendment passed.
  The bill was debated on the Senate floor and one of the longest 
filibusters in Senate history took place. Never before in history had 
the Senate been able to raise enough votes to end a filibuster on a 
civil rights bill. Once the votes had been secured to end this 
filibuster, Minority Leader Senator Everett Dirksen, an Illinois 
Republican noted that the cloture vote was occurring on the 100th 
anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's nomination to a second term.
  There was also ``street heat'' on Congress from ordinary citizens, 
civil rights organizations and churches. In June 1964 Senator Dirksen 
estimated that he had heard from at least 100,000 people about the 
bill. Telegrams, petitions and letters all urged passage and increased 
pressure on the Senate to pass the Civil Rights Bill. The NAACP, CORE, 
the National Urban League, SCLC and others represented organized 
African-American support for passage of the Bill.
  The 1964 Civil Rights Act debate continued for 83 days, slightly over 
730 hours and had taken up almost 3000 pages in the Congressional 
Record. Finally, on July 2 within a few hours of the passage of the 
1964 Civil Rights Act, President Johnson signed it into law on national 
television, using more than 70 ceremonial pens.
  On behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I would like 
to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as the 
most important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. I join 
together with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Alameda County 
Supervisor Keith Carson, Black Elected Officials and Faith Based 
Leaders of the East Bay, the Equal Justice Society, NAACP, City of 
Oakland, Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center, East Oakland Youth 
Development Center and labor organizations to celebrate this important 
milestone and continue the important work to ensure justice, equality 
and opportunity for all Americans.

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