A History of Civil Rights Legislation in America
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This year on Friday, July 2nd, the U.S. will mark the 57th anniversary of the enactment of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was the most significant civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. It prohibited the segregation policies that relegated Black Americans to separate schools, restaurants, restrooms, and drinking fountains during the Jim Crow era.
But while the 1964 bill rightfully gets significant recognition for its role in the advancement of civil rights, it’s just one of many notable civil rights bills that have been enacted since the Civil War. Here’s a look back at some of the major civil rights bills.
Significant Historical Civil Rights Legislation
The initial movement on civil rights legislation occurred while the Civil War was still ongoing. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, which changed the legal status of slaves in secessionist Confederate states from slave to free. It took effect on January 1, 1863, and while it ultimately took the Union’s victory in the Civil War to bring it into effect throughout the former Confederacy, all slaves who escaped bondage in the South before the war’s conclusion were considered free. Lincoln recognized the limits of his executive action in terms of guaranteeing the post-war status of freed slaves and turned to his Republican majorities in Congress to enact constitutional and legislative changes in the final years of the Civil War. This led to the enactment of what became known as the Reconstruction Amendments ― the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and indentured servitude except in cases of criminal punishment, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, on a 38-6 vote with Republicans in favor and all but two Democrats opposed, but two months later it faltered in the House after a similarly party-line 93-65 vote left it 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Congressional action stalled until after the 1864 election when Lincoln won re-election and Republicans reinforced their majorities on a platform featuring the abolition of slavery by constitutional amendment.
Lincoln and his allies procured votes by promising government jobs and campaign contributions to defeated Democrats, which helped narrow the margin needed for passage to five. Radical Republican Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-MA) later remarked that “the greatest measure of the nineteenth century was passed by corruption aided and abetted by the purest man in America.” Later in the lame-duck session, after Lincoln resorted to direct emotional appeals to certain members of Congress. On January 31, 1865, the House held another vote on the 13th Amendment, which passed 119-56 to the support of 84 Republicans, 2 Independent Republicans, 16 Unconditional Unionists, 3 Unionists, and 14 Democrats ― plus the abstentions of 8 Democrats which lowered the two-thirds majority threshold from 122 to 117. The vote prompted open celebration in the House, including cheers from Black onlookers in the gallery who had only been allowed to attend congressional sessions since the prior year. The 13th Amendment was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of the states on December 6, 1865, and was formally adopted on December 18, 1865 ― a little more than eight months after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
By the time the 13th Amendment became the law of the land, Congress had already moved on to a new civil rights bill aimed at protecting the civil rights of Black Americans that would’ve defined citizenship and affirmed the equal protection of all citizens under the law. It sought to counteract the Black Codes adopted in the former Confederate states which restricted the movement of Blacks, barred their ownership of firearms, restricted their access to court, and forced them into labor contracts. The bill passed Congress in 1865, but the bill was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson ― Lincoln’s 1864 running mate who was a Democrat pre-Civil War, was a Southern Unionist during the war, and eventually returned to the Democratic Party in 1868. Congress again passed the legislation in 1866, but after Johnson vetoed it a second time congressional Republicans overrode the veto and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law.
However, some in Congress argued that the legislative branch didn’t have the constitutional power to enforce the new civil rights law, so they moved to enact the 14th Amendment which ultimately guaranteed equal protection under the law, ensures the right to due process, and defines citizenship. The text of the 14th Amendment was a compromise that left some Radical Republicans disappointed that voting rights were left out, but it cleared Congress as amended in June 1866 on votes of 33-11 in the Senate and 138-36 in the House. Its ratification process was more lengthy than its predecessor, and Congress passed a series of bills known as the Reconstruction Acts which imposed requirements on former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union. One such stipulation was the ratification of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified on July 9, 1868.
The election of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 and the continuation of their majorities encouraged congressional Republicans to push for more civil rights legislation, including ensuring the voting rights of Black men in the South ― which at the time were only guaranteed through the Union Army’s occupation ― and in the North, where only 8 states allowed Black men to vote. The 15th Amendment, which prohibits the federal government and the states from denying the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” was the third and final of the Reconstruction Amendments. Congress passed the 15th Amendment in February 1869 on votes of 144-44 in the House and 39-13 in the Senate, no Democrats voted in favor of the legislation, while a total of 8 Republicans voted no because the language didn’t prohibit poll taxes, literacy tests, or guarantee Blacks the right to hold office. The ratification of the 15th Amendment was completed on February 3, 1870, which led Grant to say it “completes the greatest civil change and constitutes the most important event that has occurred since the nation came to life.”
Only a few weeks passed after the 15th Amendment’s ratification before the election of the first Black American to Congress ― Sen. Hiram Rhodes Revels (R-MS) ― a Civil War veteran who argued for compromise, moderation, and racial equality. Later that year, he was joined by the first Black man elected to the House of Representatives, Rep. Joseph Rainey (R-SC). After the 1870 midterm election, Rainey was joined by five more Black Republican lawmakers who all represented districts in the South.
Despite the enactment of the Reconstruction Amendments and some electoral successes for Blacks, Rainey and other congressional Republicans pushed for the enactment of what became the Enforcement Acts to ensure the newly established rights were being sufficiently protected. The emergence of the Ku Klux Klan, one of the groups terrorizing Blacks and abridging their voting rights, led to the enactment of three Enforcement Acts which Congress passed that were signed into law by President Grant, which did the following:
- The Enforcement Act of 1870 barred state officials from discrimination in voter registration on grounds prohibited by the 15th Amendment, established penalties for violations, and gave federal courts enforcement power. It also prohibited the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting because of their race, and prohibited groups from banding together or going in disguise along public highways or to peoples’ homes to intimidate them. Further, it allowed the president to use the Army to enforce it and federal marshals to charge offenders.
- The Second Force Act, which became law in February 1871, allowed for federal oversight of local and state elections if at least 2 citizens in a town of more than 20,000 desired it. It also revised the prior Enforcement Act to stiffen penalties.
- The Third Force Act (aka the Ku Klux Klan Act), which became law in April 1871, imposed federal liability on state officials for depriving citizens of their civil rights or equal protection under the law. It also made some of the KKK’s tactics federal offenses, authorized the president to use the military to suppress conspiracies against federal operations, and barred people suspected of such conspiracies from serving on juries related to KKK activities. Additionally, it allowed the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if efforts to suppress the KKK proved ineffective.
Grant made extensive use of the Enforcement Acts to use the military to keep the peace in the South, and by 1872 so many KKK members were put in jail that the Klan was essentially broken as an organization. Grant and Republicans in Congress enacted another law, the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which sought to provide for equal treatment in public accommodations and prohibit exclusion from jury service. The law was partially struck down in 1883 by the Supreme Court and was the last law enacted during Reconstruction.
After Grant left office following his second term, he was succeeded by Republican Rutherford Hayes who took office after a heavily disputed election in which neither he nor Democrat Samuel Tilden won a majority in the Electoral College. The Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate formed an Electoral Commission to resolve the crisis, which ultimately ended with Hayes securing victory after promising to remove federal troops from the South. The move brought Reconstruction to an inauspicious end, as Democrats gained control of Southern legislatures through fraud and intimidation, and promptly implemented Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise Black voters and segregate society.
Action on civil rights legislation in Congress stalled for decades amid Jim Crow, until the administration of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education found racially segregated public schools to be unconstitutional, Eisenhower wanted to signal his administration’s support for integration efforts amid staunch and often violent opposition by segregationists in the South. The aim of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was to protect the voting rights of Black Americans, who were being disenfranchised by discriminatory voter registration rules like poll taxes and literacy tests enacted by southern Democrats to the extent that only about 20% of Blacks were registered to vote.
Eisenhower’s proposal found widespread support among Republicans and northern Democrats but encountered stiff opposition in Congress from southern Democrats. The rift created problems for Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX), who wanted to pass the bill with the support of civil rights advocates while weakening it to placate southern Democrats. When the bill reached the Senate floor, it was filibustered by South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond, then a Democrat, who delayed a vote by speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes ― which to date is still the longest talking filibuster in history.
Despite the record-setting filibuster, the final version of the bill passed Congress with majorities of both parties supporting it. In the House, the vote was 285-126 (Republicans 167-19, Democrats 118-107) while the Senate advanced it 72-18 (Republicans 43-0, Democrats 29-18). The bill, which was the first civil rights law enacted since Reconstruction, did the following:
- It created the Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department and allowed federal prosecutors to seek injunctions and press charges for contempt of court in cases of voter intimidation or coercion.
- It also allowed federal judges to hear civil rights cases with or without juries, and to ignore state jury selection laws. This was because in much of the South, blacks were excluded from jury service by the same laws preventing them from voting and federal jury selection had been based on state rules.
- Additionally, it created a six-member Civil Rights Commission in the executive branch to gather information on the deprivation of citizens’ voting rights because of their color, race, religion, or national origin directly from disenfranchised citizens. It was to provide a report to Congress with citizens’ testimony, include relevant information about the laws involved and federal policies, and recommend changes before ceasing to exist after two years.
Eisenhower signed the bill on September 9, 1957, and later that month he federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed the 101st Airborne Division using the Insurrection Act to ensure the protection and integration of nine Black students into Little Rock Central High School. It became apparent that southern Democrats’ efforts to weaken the bill had succeeded in part, as Black voting only increased by 3% three years after enactment, so Eisenhower successfully lobbied Congress to a pass a new bill ― the Civil Rights Act of 1960 ― which required local authorities to maintain comprehensive voting records, imposed penalties for obstructing voter registration, and extended the life of the Civil Rights Commission (which is still in operation).
Ike’s successor, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, proposed another broad civil rights bill aimed at protecting voting rights and equal access to public accommodations in June 1963 and met with organizers of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom later that summer to discuss the bill. The push came amid elevated racial tensions and riots that spring, but JFK’s assassination in November 1963 led to Lyndon B. Johnson succeeding him as president.
LBJ lobbied Congress to pass the bill alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights groups. The House moved first on the bill, passing it after nine days of debate on a 290-130 vote on February 10, 1964, despite opposition from southern Democrats. It faced significant challenges in the Senate, where a “Southern Bloc” of 19 senators including Thurmond and Sen. Richard Russell (D-GA) threatened to block the bill. They built enough support to sustain a legislative filibuster of the bill by denying it the 67 votes needed to limit debate for 54 days, which featured a 14-hour talking filibuster by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV).
Eventually, the bill’s advocates including Majority Whip Hubert Humphrey (D-MN) and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) got 71 votes to end the filibuster, and an amended version of the bill passed 73-27 (44-23 among Democrats and 27-6 among Republicans). It then went back to the House, where it passed 289-126 (153-91 among Democrats and 136-35 among Republicans). The final version of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public accommodations, facilities, and schools; outlawed discrimination in federally funded projects; created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor employment discrimination; and provided powers to enforce voting rights. LBJ signed into law on July 2, 1964.
The next year, LBJ and Congress moved to pass legislation to enforce voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments. LBJ addressed the nation and called for the bill after the Selma to Montgomery marches and “Bloody Sunday”, which prompted him to use the Insurrection Act so federal troops could protect marchers. Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-MT) and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) drafted the original bill and shepherded it past potential obstruction by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Eastland (D-MS). It eventually passed the Senate 77-19 in May 1965, and an amended version cleared the House in July on a 333-85 vote. Congress formed a conference committee and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed the House on a 328-74 vote (217-54 among Democrats and 111-20 among Republicans) on August 3rd, and it passed the Senate on a 79-18 vote (49-17 among Democrats and 30-1 among Democrats) the next day.
LBJ signed it into law with MLK, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and other civil rights leaders in attendance on August 6th, which allowed for direct federal efforts to increase black voter registration in areas where it was suppressed and prohibited the use of practices like poll taxes and literacy tests by states in an effort to restrict voting. It also required areas with historic voter discrimination to seek the DOJ’s preclearance of proposed new voting laws before they could be implemented to ensure they wouldn’t disenfranchise voters.
Congress and LBJ went on to pass another Civil Rights Act in 1968 which created federal hate crime laws, banned discrimination in housing through provisions known as the Fair Housing Act, criminalized interstate travel with the intent to engage in riots, and ensured that civil rights protections extended to jurisdictions governed by American Indian tribes. The bill’s enactment came against the backdrop of riots across the country following MLK’s assassination, which prompted LBJ to invoke the Insurrection Act and use the military to help quell the unrest in D.C., Chicago, Illinois, and Baltimore, Maryland.
The civil rights laws enacted in the 20th Century helped to uphold the goals of the Reconstruction Amendments and the original civil rights bills enacted in the aftermath of the Civil War. While there are still clear signs of inequality in America today, one area in which the bills have been particularly successful in increasing Black voter participation. Black voter turnout in the South increased in the years that followed and caught up with black voter registration in the rest of the U.S. by the 1992 presidential election. According to data from USAFacts, a non-profit civic data initiative, voter turnout among blacks hit all-time highs of 60.8% in 2008 and 62% in 2012 ― which exceeded the overall voter turnout rate in those elections.
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: White House Press Office / Public Domain)
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Since the dreadful civil rights movement, the black population has shown time and time again they do not deserve the rights they have been given in this country. The more you give them, the more they want. This country was founded as a White Christian nation and they are unfortunate guests here. Since they have made this the most unsafe country to live in through their violent behavior, time to fulfill President Lincoln's intention to deport them all to Liberia or some other Third World country that will take them off our hands. At the very least we need to bring back segregation since we were never meant to co-exist. The government has a duty to protect the native population, if africans are making the White population unsafe, they need to be removed from this soil pronto.
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I am always moved by the wisdom of the framers and the founders and the key foundational premise that underlies most of the concepts and principles that define our democracy, ‘that all [people] are created equal with certain inalienable rights’. We have not fully lived up to that ideal but have made many great strides toward it. Our democracy was, is and will continue to be a struggle because it is based on ideals and principles that can be compromised by those dominated by the demons of greed, desire, fear or political power. The history of civil rights in our country runs parallel with the struggle to protect our democracy from those that would suppress the freedoms of some or abuse our democracy’s freedoms in pursuit of their own self interests. … … … This topic on Causes clearly documents the kind of struggle that righteous Civil Rights has faced and still faces today. We STILL have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment! Progress has been slow and incremental, but there has been progress. Unfortunately, the same demons of democracy are gaining strength today, fed from the wellspring of disinformation and dishonesty for the sole purpose of distorting and limiting democracy’s hard-fought rules and norms to suit their political ambitions. … … … I see the fight for true democracy and equal rights for all to be the same inextricably linked struggle. Our black sisters, brothers, friends, colleagues and neighbors have most visibly had their rights suppressed. The struggle is broader and includes anyone that some can see as a somehow being an unworthy ‘other’ who is unworthy not because of who they are - not their character, their skills, their achievements and well, their soul; but rather the color of their skin, ethnicity, religious beliefs, life style choices, gender, sexual preferences, elite status or any of the ‘other’ labels we can put on others. We do not need to agree with other people’s choices to respect their worth as people who should have the same opportunities to thrive in our society as anyone else. No one should have the right to impose their beliefs on others unless they are breaking laws or ‘bearing false witness’ either intentionally or because they just do not know better. … … … The struggle to preserve our democracy and the struggle for equal rights and opportunities for all are inextricably linked. The struggle must continue and those who want to preserve and protect our democracy must be vigilant and ready to use all legal means to overcome suppression, get to the polls and vote those willing to sacrifice our democratic principles for personal gain into a well deserved political oblivion.
While we have made progress re. civil rights, we still have a long way to go. I watched the movie "Selma" last night and thought about how the Republicans are trying to limit the right to vote and how some cops are too quick to use lethal force against black males, how the police and other law enforcement continue to use force to stop peaceful protest, and how right-wing racist groups are still injuring and/or at time killing people of color. What I saw in the movie and what I see on the news on a fairly regular basis seems to only have changed by a sm. degree. While I hate to think this, maybe it is the nature of some whites to only feel secure and superior to others when they can repress them.
The work is not done. Until minorities in this country are treated equally and justly, we must remain vigilant, reform and legislate where necessary. Black and brown people are still more likely to be stopped by police, sentenced to prison time, and killed by police than all other groups. Trans women of color are killed at least every week in this country, while white women and white trans women face much less violence. Black and brown people are much more likely to be working lower-wage jobs and face burdens to fair and affordable housing. These things aren't coincidences, and can't be fixed by the groups affected by them alone. We need systemic reform to level the playing field. Yes, everybody should get the same chance, but you can't be "equal" when you're starting below the playing field that white people get. I hope this year we will see more reform in policing, voting protections, and protection for LGBTQ+ people.
Democrats have always been slavers. They just changed the meaning of words to keep it going . They have it going bigger than ever today, right now. There are more slaves in the United States as we speak than there ever was in the 1800s. FOR REAL!
You know what I would like to see legislated? 1. Quality education for ALL children. Education is the great equalizer. 2. Universal Healthcare. COVID-19 exposed our racially & socioeconomic disparities in healthcare. Legislate this.
13th amendment abolished slavery- 100% Republicans/23% Democrats 14th amendment gave slaves citizenship- 94% Republicans/0% Democrats 15th amendment right to vote for all men - 100% Republicans/0% Democrats
Good article until the authors opinions at the end. Let’s not forget Biden’s place in the history of civil rights, his relationship with Robert Byrd and segregationists. His intention along with CRT is to divide the country along racial lines. Wake up people, the Democrat party is the same as it always was.
This article was an interesting read. After Klan was all but destroyed in the late 1800 it was brought back to life at the 1924 Democratic convention. And now we have had prominent Democrats eulogize Klan members. We have a President who does not think that minorities know how to get on the internet. Oh and thinks that poor kids are just as smart as white kids. Just seems that the Democratic Party has not really progressed.
You know what teaches us that there’s systemic racism? Trying to ban the teaching of systemic racism.
It is indeed true that we have been terribly slow as a country to bring forth equal rights to all Americans. And, many have expressed these thoughts eloquently. But as a world citizen I am ashamed at how this has come about and why we are still working at it. I ask myself why pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes should dominate? And delving deeper than that why the human race awards power and money? Why we shun certain occupations and feel superior to one another? The “white folks” want to be superior to the black and brown folks. The rich want to be superior and control the less fortunate. And the power hungry just want their way with everyone. And, the funny thing about these scenarios is that they are often taught by “folks of the word” whether it be the Bible, the Koran or another organized religion. So even one’s faith is compromised by what should be just and righteous to all men. So how can our government change these century old habits? How can we make the masses accept the equality of all men regardless of the color of their skin, the amount of education that have, the amount of money they make , or the prestige that carry? We can force these things through legislation but we cannot change the mindset of most without something more. I think the terrible demise of George Floyd’s video helped some people understand what has been going on for centuries…but I think more equalizing events need to be revealed before society can move forward with more compassion for one another. Im sorry I don’t have any answers to offer, just questions to ponder and hope that Congress reading these thoughts can help bring us to a more equatable place.
The Civil Rights Act has done a lot of wonderful things for black people but we have a long way to go until all people have equal rights.
@frank. Interestingly at the same time Prof Curtis Banks ( Standford psych) was doing a sabbatical yr in the dept as P’ton was heavily recruiting him. He would have been P’ton’s first black prof. He decided to return to Standford. As i remember Shockley he was an egotistical pompous ass. It was difficult to take him seriously, he had no training in genetics, psychology or any discipline except physics. He reminded me of a closet Nazi… but what did i know i was only a young student
@Dorothy - I don't recall a Prof. C.W. Banks ever being on my radar. "I remember Shockley he was an egotistical pompous ass.It was difficult to take him seriously, he had no training in genetics, psychology or any discipline except physics. He reminded me of a closet Nazi… but what did i know i was only a young student." Even as a young student you had good instincts! But being children during the 60's, I suspect many of us were primed to resist even scientifically packaged racism by '73. It seems he came out of that Nazi Closet hoping to make a glamorous splash. Instead he tripped on his Nazi Tiara and fell on his face in front of the world. Karma! Shockley did provide an impetus to learn more about racism, and the methodologies of Psychology and Genetics. I remember conversations with the psych majors and grad students. One strong outspoken girl, I forget her name, was a bio major. Everyone was refuting Shockley’s assertions. For some reason he was taken seriously for his 15 minutes. Was he the "My Pillow Guy" of his day? Seems even the outspoken racists have gotten dumber, if no less arrogant. 🙄 ###
@frank some may be old enough to remember the ‘73 debate monitored by Dan Rather at Princeton’s psych dept. Psych Chair Leo Kamin (who authored The Politics and Science of IQ) and physics prof William Shockley from Stanford. Shockley was an ardent eugenicist who was invested in his theories of black racial inferiority. I was working the dept at the time and it was truly amazing to hear this brilliant physicist spew out this garbage. He became an academic pariah
Re: Carina being targeted by Anti-fans, the Daves. (Not to be confused with Antifa.) Did Carina have a recent change of heart or did she just change her tactics (ie her trolling antics)? Anyway. Without context, some readers will just take her comments at face value. Good on her for quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today!
Truly a reflection of the racist democratic policies when in years 2008 and 2012 we had the highest rates of black voter turn out; yet, the racist Democratic Party is now trying to change voter laws under the guise of racial equity so that fraudulent voting and election interference can run rampant to try and manipulate elections and usurp the black vote and votes of all citizens alike. And the use false narrative claiming it’s to protect voting rights, when in fact, it’s to take them away. All the Democratic Party has ever wanted to do is control government, control people, control money and the economy, and everything else. They are power hungry fascists and do not care at all about people, black brown white red or yellow! They only care about power money snd control. The history of the Democratic Party clearly shows this and their actions today still do. They will never change. They are a dangerous cult snd have brainwashed way too many people. And still they can’t win elections without lying, cheating, and stealing, because their policies and agenda is clear as day to people who are paying attention; people of all races are paying attention because race is inconsequential. We are all equal under god and the law in this country. If only the Democratic Party treated all people equal and stopped perpetuating racism, we could truly be the shining beacon on the hill. Go away Demoncrats! You are a plague on my house!
The Justification of Bigotry, Discrimination, Hatred, and Slavery by "Christians" In response to @Dave's question*, many before us asked some variant of that question. I suggest an internet search for something like the "justification of black inferiority." As far as I know, race isn't given any consideration in the Christians’ "Good Book,” so other criteria took precedence for generating and maintaining such seeming hypocrisy essentially based on a convenient but massively erroneous premise, yet another "Big Lie." The first time I encountered the notion of justifying the notion of racial inequality was an extensive scientific "study" (1) coming out claiming to validate the notion of “black inferiority” while I was in college. Turned out it was just another attempt in a long history of "rational racism." For starters, see, for example a historical perspective — “Race - Building the myth of Black inferiority.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/race-human/Building-the-myth-of-Black-inferiority and for the junk science of racism — "Scientific racism: a history of the phony theories that perpetuate white supremacy." https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-brief-history-of-the-enduring-phony-science-that-perpetuates-white-supremacy/2019/04/29/20e6aef0-5aeb-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html * @Dave asked: "Reading all this legislation enacted just for freedom, human rights and voting rights, which should not be a no Brainer for the so called religious right, left or independent from the time this country was started and the constitution. Course Hindsight is 20-20, but didn’t they read their bible or any religious book? What are churches or religion for, to justify hate, bigotry, discrimination and slavery?" ADDENDUM (1) "WILLIAM SHOCKLEY "William Shockley, Stanford professor and winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize in physics for his co-invention of the transistor, was arguably the single person most responsible for ushering in the computer age. He was also an ardent eugenicist whose theories of black racial inferiority eventually made him an academic pariah." From "William Shockley" Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-shockley (This article is well worth reading.) William Shockley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shockley "Shockley and Free Speech" https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1973/11/6/shockley-and-free-speech-pthe-law/