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Why We Must Fight To Keep Our Basic Civil Rights
People fought like hell to make these laws real in America
…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…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.” — President Johnson
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
In the immediate days following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, civil rights group began to press for action on civil rights. The civil rights agenda had been on the minds of African Americans since the days following the end of the War of Rebellion in 1865. African Americans had gained their basic rights of civic equality including voting rights, only to see these rights taken away methodically over the course of 30 years.
