[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10889-10890]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 7, 2015

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 51st 
anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, one of the consequential 
governmental actions since the issuance of the Emancipation 
Proclamation.
  On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act that 
would profoundly change our country and brought about the greatest 
reduction in economic and social inequality among Americans in history.
  Mr. Speaker, today it is difficult to imagine there once was a time 
in our country when blacks and whites could not eat together in public 
restaurants, use the same public restrooms, stay at the same hotels, or 
attend the same schools.
  It is hard to believe today that just 51 years ago, discrimination on 
the ground of race was a legal and socially accepted practice.
  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed that.
  The Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination and segregation in 
employment, public accommodations, and education on the ground of race, 
gender, religion or national origin.
  This act became the soil from which our country flourished; 
opportunities were bred and dreams were born.
  This change did not happen overnight or by accident.
  It took hard work and courage and an unwavering faith that America 
could live up to the true meaning of its creed.
  With American leaders embodying faith and courage the Civil Rights 
Act signifies battles fought over many years that our champions finally 
won.
  Leaders like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, 
Rosa Parks, and John Lewis are just a few of the many noble champions 
who took a stand for freedom and risked their lives to make real the 
promise of America for all Americans.
  Today, 51 years later, we continue to preserve the rights and 
freedoms that so many fought for and could only dream of before the 
Civil Rights Act.
  On the evening of June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed 
the nation and uttered these words that would echo in history: ``It 
ought to be possible for every American to enjoy the privileges of 
being American without regard to his race or his color. But this is not 
the case. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old 
as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. The 
heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal 
rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our 
fellow Americans as we want to be treated. One hundred years of delay 
have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, 
their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the 
bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic 
oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will 
not be fully free until all its citizens are free. Now the time has 
come for this Nation to fulfill its promise.''

[[Page 10890]]

  And a better country, we have become.
  Although we have come a long way, we must not become complacent on 
the issues of civil rights.
  Our nation is a growing melting pot, and we must continue to make 
sure American citizens, regardless of their religion, race, or gender, 
are granted the right to freedom and equality.
  This nation prides itself on the abundance of individual freedom.
  Through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we have nurtured a land where 
every American citizen is born free, and with the opportunity to chase 
their own American dream.
  Mr. Speaker, before signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President 
Lyndon Baines Johnson addressed the nation on the significance of the 
bill he was about to sign: ``We believe that all men are created equal. 
Yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have 
certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those 
rights. We believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of 
liberty. Yet millions are being deprived of those blessings--not 
because of their own failures, but because of the color of their skin. 
The reasons are deeply imbedded in history and tradition and the nature 
of man. We can understand--without rancor or hatred--how this all 
happened. But it cannot continue. Our Constitution, the foundation of 
our Republic, forbids it. The principles of our freedom forbid it. 
Morality forbids it. And the law I will sign tonight forbids it.''
  Our fight for civil rights is not over.
  Victories such as the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality do 
not overshadow the fact that those who identify as LGBT can get married 
on Monday, be fired by Friday, and be kicked out of their apartment by 
Sunday.
  The fight is not over.
  Mr. Speaker, we still have members of minority communities being 
killed based on the color of their skin and not the content of their 
character.
  Our fight is not over.
  Symbols of hate hang on government buildings in the form of a flag 
that inspires deplorable actions, leaving 9 dead after a church Bible 
study.
  America's fight for civil rights is not over.
  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 sought to fulfill the promise of the 
fourteenth amendment that ``no state shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the 
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, 
or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within 
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.''
  Fifty-one years ago we as a nation moved forward to accept that all 
American citizens have the same inalienable rights regardless of 
religion, race, or gender.
  The language of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
guarantees protection for all citizens' rights and it is our job as 
representatives of the people to make sure we continue to defend those 
rights.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to acknowledge the progress we have made 
since the Civil Right Act of 1964 and I pledge to continue fighting for 
all Americans so that we may keep the promises written in law by our 
founding fathers.

                          ____________________