the earliest passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long. johnson gets that civil rights bill moving in the first few weeks after kennedy s assassination. dixiecrats led by richard russell announced a filibuster. that is they would continue to talk and prevent the bill from coming forward for a straight up our down vote. this bill which we feel is a perversion of the american way of life and a great blow at the right of dominion over private property that has been the genesis of our greatness. lbj and his allies knew they were short. so thus began a 24/7 campaign. he bullied. he cajoled. he made deals in order to get enough senators on board. surprisingly, after a year on capitol hill, this bill is stronger than the one president kennedy first requested. president johnson should have the bill on his desk by the
segregation tomorrow and segregation forever. george wallace became a figure for white southerners and when he promised segregation forever to the resistant white south. i m sorry mr. wallace, god has spoken to me. that he wants freedom for his people. it may even mean physical death but if it means that i will die standing up for the freedom of my people, god has spoken to me. king very wisely sees an opportunity to give more exposure to the sieve rights movement and prod the kennedy administration. martin luther king decided that they should have major demonstrations, only in areas at
kennedy in his inaugural speech did not have a single mention of a domestic issue. harris wofford said all these people out there and particularly black people who voted for you and you ve got to give them something. what they did then was add two words talking about freedom and human rights abroad and at home. that was the only mention. kennedy s administration is trying to keep a lid on the civil rights issue, and civil right activists are determined to push ahead. brave blacks and whites rode into the deep south together on greyhound and trailways buses to challenge segregation as freedom riders. the freedom ride started with two buses, 13 people going from washington d.c. to new orleans. the concept of the freedom rides was to show that the
pen to place them at the disposal of kennedy. national guard units are commanded by a governor unless they are federalized and the president becomes their commander in chief. kennedy had to make the decision what to do next. president kennedy has done some significant things in civil rights. at the same time, i must say that president kennedy hadn t done enough, and we must remind him that we elected him. [ applause ] under a siring alabama sun that has the temperature above 100 degrees, the waiting continues. the direct confrontation with federal authorities and negros students is believed to be moments away.
there. leave it alone. they going to handle this situation. governor wallace ordered 500 alabama national guardsmen in. they are under his control. it would require more than the pen to place them at the disposal of kennedy. national guard units are commanded by a governor unless they are federalized and the president becomes their commander in chief. kennedy had to make the decision what to do next. president kennedy has done some significant things in civil rights. at the same time, i must say that president kennedy hadn t done enough, and we must remind him that we elected him. [ applause ]